Sakura's story: I'll wait for you forever
by BEBluvnaru
Summary: Set in the same alternate universe as Hinata's story but told mostly from Sakura's and Sarada's POV. Sakura and Sasuke's relationship following the 4th war. Lots of romance... some angst.
1. Chapter 1

**The version with more explicit/detailed scenes is on aO3 under bebluvsnaru**

 **This was a one-shot/companion story to Hinata's story, which I turned into a stand alone story... but there may still be some details that are filled in by the original story.**

 **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy**

 **Disclaimer:: I own nothing. But I like writing stories about Masashi Kishimoto's characters.**

* * *

Part One

Sakura watched Naruto run from her door into the night after Hinata. The fear in his face and the urgency in his continence made her heart ache. Not only because of her friends' crisis, but also because she wanted so badly for someone to feel that way about her.

More specifically, she wanted Sasuke to feel that way about her. She had nearly given up. She could not take the ups and downs between them. Sasuke went from hot to cold in a matter of hours. She woke up every day with dread in the pit of her stomach. Certain that he had left the village without saying good bye again.

She spent the first couple of years after the war, watching him change for the better. No longer consumed by revenge and anger and a thirst for power, he became obsessed with redemption, traveling from village to village, looking for people to save, and in the process, saving himself. He accepted his bond with Naruto. He accepted, whether good or bad, that the village hidden in the leaves was his home. She finally saw a chance to be a part of his life. To maybe help him find the salvation that he was searching for. But after two and a half years, not much had changed between them. He tolerated her presence most of the time, and when he did not, he stayed away… usually for weeks at a time.

Then finally they had their first kiss. But this only made things more complicated. Afterwards, Sasuke was gone more often and more erratically. When he did return, he was attempting to fill up every intimate space in her life. And as soon as she let him have her heart once more, he was gone with it again.

Their first kiss happened one night at the end of one of their awkward pseudo-dates. Earlier that evening, they met up with the rest of the group at a restaurant. Ino, Sai, Shikamaru, Temari, Choji, and Karui were there, so it was more like a large group date, being that everyone was either dating or married with the exception of Sasuke and Sakura.

As usual this made Sasuke uncomfortable. If Naruto and Hinata were there, he may have stuck it out. But since the newlyweds chose to skip again, Sakura found herself following Sasuke out of the restaurant soon after the appetizers were served.

"We couldn't have stayed a bit longer?" Sakura asked, attempting to keep up with Sasuke as he stalked down the street.

"I told you that you could've stayed." Sasuke replied coldly. "I was ready to go."

Sakura did not know where Sasuke disappeared to at night. She assumed he had a place somewhere in the old section of the village, where the Uchiha clan used to reside. But he never invited her there. He would just appear at her place when he was ready to see her. Or they met somewhere in the street.

"Where are you going then?" Sakura asked, determined to not let Sasuke end the night so abruptly.

"I have some business to discuss with Naruto. I've made contact with some of my old comrades from the time when I lived separate from Konoha."

"You mean, Karin?" Sakura asked, sharply. Maybe a little too sharply, because Sasuke looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Yes. I mean Karin… and Jugo and Suigetsu." Sasuke sounded irritated. He lengthened his strides even more. "I'll see you later."

"Wait!" Sakura kept in stride with him, not dissuaded. "You can't just go over to Naruto's house uninvited. He and Hinata are newlyweds. I'm sure they need their privacy… If you know what I mean."

"This is more important." Sasuke's voice continued to have its hard edge. He did not know what she meant. He made no time in his life for relationships, therefore he could not grasp why and how others might.

They turned into the yard of the new Uzumaki house. Sakura had been impressed with Naruto's initiative when he purchased the place. It was a nice house. He was actually becoming a very good husband.

Sasuke walked up to the door, and without bothering to knock, he walked right in. Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it again. Questioning Sasuke's behavior was an exercise in futility. For someone who built hundred foot walls around himself, Sasuke had no concept of boundaries when it came to other people. He was consistently walking through unlocked doors without invitation, and making himself at home in other people's spaces.

The living room was empty. There was a half eaten dinner on the table, but Hinata and Naruto were no where in sight. Sakura followed Sasuke further into the house. There were muffled sounds coming from the back, in the laundry room area.

The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood up. She wanted to grab Sasuke's arm and pull him back, almost certain about what they were going to walk in on. But another part of her was curious to see how Sasuke would react.

Consumed by his quest to get away from Sakura, Sasuke continued to follow the sounds to the laundry room.

The door sat wide open. Sakura could not see inside, but she could see Sasuke's body stiffen as he got an eye full. The sounds of pleasure coming from inside the room did not stop. Both Naruto and Hinata were too wrapped up in each other to notice that they had a spectator.

Sasuke stood there for almost a minute. He seemed to be right smack in the middle of shock and intrigue. Finally, he quietly backed up and turned around, running into Sakura. He looked down at her, realizing she was still there too. His eyes were deep pools of embarrassment and lust.

Now Sakura was becoming turned on by how turned on Sasuke was, and the sounds of sex, coming from the laundry room, had only become louder. She reached up and pulled the back of his head down to her.

Usually this would have elicited a severe reaction from Sasuke. But now, he let her kiss him. Willingly opening his mouth to except her tongue, pulling her closer, so their bodies were against one another.

Sakura thought maybe for a second she was dreaming. All the time she longed for him, she never allowed herself to believe that he longed for her back. But she could feel the hunger in his kiss, as if he had been desiring to kiss her for years.

They kissed each other for a moment until Sasuke remembered himself and pulled back. He moved his hands from around her waist to her shoulders, and then he pushed her back so they were an arm's length apart.

He grumbled, "I'll talk to Naruto in the morning."

Sasuke walked around her and out of the door without another word. And Sakura watched him go before she quickly left the house herself.

Needless to say, Naruto and Hinata never knew that they were the reason for Sasuke and Sakura's first kiss.

* * *

Sasuke was pissed at himself. He had indulged in a vulnerable moment with Sakura. And he knew that had opened a can of worms that he was not ready to open.

She would not let the kiss go easily. He would have to hurt her bad enough that she was forced to accept that the kiss was a onetime deal and would never happen again. He did not want to hurt Sakura. That was the biggest obstacle that stood between them. The fact that he really did care about her.

If she had been expendable, like all of the other women in his life, he would have taken her to bed, right then and there, and been done with it. But that would not have been enough.

It had not been enough that he accepted Naruto's friendship. That he gave into his connection to Konoha and came back from time to time. That he allowed himself a moderately affectionate relationship with her. He had done all these things not just for himself, but also for her.

But it was still not enough. She wanted him to love her. The way that Naruto loved Hinata. With marriage, and living in each other's space, and nights like the one that they had walked in on.

Sasuke knew he was not capable of any of that. And after all these years, Sakura still did not understand who he truly was. Her feelings were for a figment of her imagination and not actually for him. She would be nothing but disappointed in a relationship with him.

But kissing Sakura had felt so good at the time that it had happened, he was almost unable to stop himself from going further. Then right afterwards, he felt nothing but guilt and disgust. He knew he had to leave the village again for awhile. He only wanted her more and more with each day, and he was beginning to resent her for the way she was making him feel.

He wandered out of the village a few days later without a clear destination, but eventually found himself in a small village right near Orochimaru's western hide out in Kusagakure. The sannin had not bothered to move the locations of any of his hideouts after Sasuke defected back to Konohagakure. It was a clear message to Sasuke that the Uchiha was not as powerful as he thought. And Sasuke would have been angry if he actually had an ounce of respect left for his pathetic ex- mentor.

The evening after Sasuke arrived, Jugo showed up to the small motel where Sasuke was staying. Sasuke knew that Jugo would find him as soon as he entered the vicinity. Though Jugo worked for Orochimaru, he was still loyal to Sasuke.

Karin was a different story. He was happy to hear that she had moved further away, and was now on Demon island, heading Orochimaru's lab.

He had made more than a few mistakes with Karin. She claimed to hate him after he used her as a pawn to trap Danzo and almost killed her. But soon after the fourth war ended, she was back to vying for his attention.

Sasuke used her for other purposes this time. She became a body when he needed a body. He never understood why she continued to allow him back in her bed, despite how badly he treated her. And too late, he realized he should have been the one to end the affair long ago.

After the last time he called her Sakura instead of Karin while they had sex, she flew in to a rage and refused to see him again. He knew if he followed her, she would give in. But it was better to leave it done and over with. He had toyed with Karin's fragile mental state for far too long.

"What brings you here?" Jugo asked, throwing back a drink at the bar.

"My instincts are going haywire. I feel like your boss is up to something that will mean trouble for us all soon." Sasuke said, drinking his own drink.

"Are you sure this visit has to do with Orochimaru and not with that woman you have stashed away in your village."

Sasuke frowned. "I have no woman who I claim."

"Aww, you poor fool." Jugo said, throwing back another drink and slamming down the glass with his huge fist on the bar. "You haven't figured it out yet. It doesn't matter if you claim her. She's already claimed you."

Jugo sniffed at Sasuke. His face transforming partially into an animal like snarl. "I can smell it on you. It won't be long before she's in your bed. Good thing Karin isn't around anymore. That would be a hell of a situation."

"You're drunk." Sasuke said coldly. These were not the answers that he was wanting to know. Granted, Jugo's senses were never wrong. But he had left Konohagakure because he had been lusting after Sakura ever since their kiss. This was nothing new to him.

Jugo slapped him on the back and then dropped the subject much to Sasuke's relief.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura looked up from her charting as Kotetsu leaned over the counter and said, "Where have you been? Now that we have a new Hokage, I haven't seen much of you."

"Oh, just busy in the hospital." Sakura replied. It was no secret that Kotetsu liked her. It was a bit creepy since he was almost ten years older than her. But he never took anything past light conversation, so she felt like his crush was harmless. "I'm almost done though, thank god."

"Let me buy you dinner then." Kotetsu said, kindly.

Sakura closed her last chart and looked at him, about to refuse. Then she thought better of it. She was over twenty-one and their age difference was not so faux pas anymore. Besides, she was tired of going home alone. And Kotetsu was a nice guy, who really liked her, and he was not bad looking either. Maybe she could have a normal relationship with a man who wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him.

She smiled. "Sure. Pick me up in an hour at my place?"

Kotetsu's eyes brightened. He had apparently been expecting her to say no. "Yes! Sounds great."

* * *

Sakura sprayed some perfume on her neck. She fluffed her pink hair and pinched her cheeks. This would be the fourth date with Kotetsu, and she felt like tonight might be the night.

She put on her best red dress, which showed every curve and left nothing to imagination. She stuck all the necessary accessories in her hand bag, including a change of underwear –just in case.

After reaching down to buckle her stilettos, she stood up and adjusted her dress again. She pushed up her bra and then moved to zip up the back of her dress. But she already felt a hand behind her on the zipper at her lower back. She looked up into the mirror startled.

Sasuke stood behind her, zipping up her dress. Sakura sucked in her breath. He leaned into her and sniffed the perfume on the back of her neck.

"I didn't know you were back in town." Sakura said, collecting her thoughts and moving away from Sasuke. Again with the lack of boundaries, she thought angrily. How did he even get in here? He was a ninja, but so was she. She needed to do better.

"I just got here." Sasuke continued to inspect every inch of Sakura, smirking at her clear discomfort.

"Well, I'm about to go out… so I'm sorry, but I can't talk longer." Sakura grabbed her purse and her coat, and headed to the door.

"Where are you going? I'll come with you." Sasuke called after her, clearly not getting the hint… or at least pretending not to.

"I'm going on a date. So you can't come." Sakura said haughtily.

"Oh?" Sasuke replied coolly. "Going out with Kotetsu Hagane again?"

"Y-yes... I am. Why is it your business?!" Sakura stammered out. She had not expected him to know about Kotetsu already. She was certain it was Naruto who told him. Like an overprotective brother that she never wanted, the blonde ninja had been staring boreholes into Kotetsu's head ever since they started dating.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and said, "I just think he's an interesting choice for you. A little old, don't you think?"

Sakura turned on her heel and demanded, "What does that mean!? Kotetsu is only thirty-two. And he is a mature man …and a perfect gentleman …and I enjoy his company!"

Sasuke smiled a half smile. "Sounds like true passion."

"OH, IT WILL BE AFTER TONIGHT!" She yelled at Sasuke, before walking back towards her bedroom and slamming the bedroom door in his face. She stomped out of her apartment.

* * *

Kotetsu held Sakura's hand, as they approached her front door. Sakura really liked Kotetsu, but she felt absolutely no chemistry with him what so ever. OOOOH! Why couldn't Sasuke just leave her alone? He showed up again, just in time to remind her what real passion felt like. She could still feel his hands on the small of her back and his breath on the nape of her neck.

She could have pretended with Kotetsu for a little while, but it would never be the same. And would it really be fair to him, using him like that. "Good night Kotetsu."

She kissed him on the cheek and then quickly entered her house before he could ask for anything else.

She leaned her head back against the closed door and slipped out of her high heels. She closed her eyes.

"You're home early."

Sakura opened her eyes, shocked. Had he been here the entire time? He actually sat in her apartment and waited for her to return home?

Now that her eyes were adjusted to the dark, she could make out Sasuke sitting on her couch eating one of her frozen dinners. "You're still here?"

She walked to her bedroom and grabbed a bag from underneath her bed. She had to get away from him. She could feel Sasuke entering the bedroom behind her. She found the bag and then started stuffing things inside of it.

"Well. Just continue to make yourself at home." Sakura said sarcastically, "My home is your home. You can even use my bed if you want. I only came to pick up some things."

Sasuke flipped on the light and frowned at Sakura. "You're going back out?"

"I'm going to stay with my BOY-friend." Sakura lied.

"So he's your boyfriend now?" Sasuke asked, his voice starting to sound irritated.

"Yes." Sakura replied matter-of-factly. "Since you know so much about my life, you should know that."

"So you're really planning to spend the night with this guy then?" Sasuke asked, angrily. Her nonchalant demeanor aggravating him even more.

Sakura grabbed her bag and walked out of the bedroom. She did not want to argue. She just wanted to get away. "I'll see you later, Sasuke."

She found herself out on the street with nowhere to go. She could not go to Naruto's and Hinata's house. Besides their place being a horrible reminder of her first kiss with Sasuke, Naruto would definitely tell him.

She decided to go stay with Ino and Sai. They were being nonconformists and living together before marriage. Of course Ino's mother had nearly had a heart attack when Ino told her she was not planning to get married anytime soon. But Ino was Ino. She always had to do whatever was stylish at the moment, and apparently living together before marriage was in style.

"It's not like I don't love your company Sakura dear. But how long do you plan to hide from Sasuke here?" Ino asked, as Sakura unpacked her bag, which was filled with an eclectic mix of make up, a tooth brush, feminine products, and an alarm clock. She had forgotten clothes. Luckily she had a clean pair of underwear in her purse.

"Who says I'm hiding from Sasuke?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest. "It's no secret he's back in town. And he was last spotted headed in the direction of your apartment after Naruto spilled the beans about your date with Kotetsu."

"I knew this was all Naruto's doing," Sakura groaned. "Why can't people mind their own damn business?"

Then she realized who she was talking to, and she kept talking, "He sat in the living room the entire date and waited for me to come back to the apartment."

"Well isn't that what you've been wanting?" Ino asked, eagerly.

"NO!" Sakura slammed her bag on the bed, causing the frame to lean awkwardly to the right. "sorry."

Ino shook her head, ignoring the broken bed. "Well… what do you want then?"

"I want him to admit that he has feelings for me. I want to be in a real relationship with a man, I can count on!" Sakura cried. She wanted everything that she could have gotten from Kotetsu. She sat down on the bed and said, resigned, "he'll never give any of that to me."

"Oh Sakura," Ino said, sitting down next her friend. The bed collapsed. Shit! They grabbed each other, giggling.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a loud banging on the door later that night. Sakura had fallen asleep, after downing an entire bottle of wine with Ino, much to Sai's chagrin. She thought the pounding was in her head, until she opened her eyes and it had not stopped yet.

She sat up as she heard Sai open the door.

"Sasuke. It's much too late for visitors." Sai said, in his usual pull-no-punches way.

"Right. Sure. I'm looking for Sakura. Is Sakura here?" Sasuke sounded as drunk as she felt.

"Wait a minute." Sai replied.

A few seconds later Sai was knocking on her door. "Sakura, your drunk boyfriend is on my doorstep after midnight. You both are acting very pathetic. It would be easier if you just got together and put the rest of us out of our misery."

"Shut it, Sai!" She heard Ino's voice command from behind the door. Then she said gently through the door. "We can tell him to go Sakura."

"No. I'm coming." She threw one of Ino's silk robes over the night gown that she borrowed. She opened the door and walked past Ino and Sai, who both looked like they had just rolled out of the bed.

Sasuke was standing outside in the rain. His long black hair was plastered to the sides of his face and his eyes were hazy with alcohol.

"What do you want Sasuke?"

"I want you to come home with me." He said, moving into the door way closer to her and dripping water on the carpet.

"I'm not going back to my apartment tonight." Sakura replied, pushing him away from her again.

"I'm not talking about your apartment." Sasuke slurred in a hushed voice. "I want you to come to my home."

He stepped towards her again and grabbed Sakura by the waist, pulling her into his wet body. He lay his forehead on her forehead. "I want you. All of you."

"Sasuke, you're drunk." Sakura replied, placing her hands on his chest to keep space between them. He was saying everything she wanted to hear, but he reeked of alcohol and he had no idea what he was saying. "If you feel the same way tomorrow when you wake up, come back."

Sasuke looked confused for a seconded. Then fastening his black eyes onto her green eyes, he said, firmly. "I'll be back tomorrow. Don't ever stop waiting for me."

Sakura did not say anything, but she moved one of her hands to the side of his face. He pushed his cheek into her hand. It was like every inhibition that Sasuke ever had, was overridden by just one night of binge drinking. He kissed her hand, and then he turned and walked back out into the rain.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled. She knew that Sasuke would be back to himself tomorrow, and he would not even remember his promise to come back for her. She just wanted a few more minutes of this Sasuke. He stopped and turned around. She ran out into the rain and threw herself into his arms. He wrapped himself around her, kissing her passionately.

Their tongues intertwined, exploring every inch of each other's mouths. Neither one of them cared about taking a breath, the rain soaking them, or the audience who was gawking at them from the apartment door.

Sasuke scooped Sakura up off of her feet. "Hold tight to my neck."

He took off across the village, running through the rain, to the old section of the village. By the time they were among the old abandoned homes and shops of the Uchiha clan, they were both soaked to the bone.

Sasuke carried Sakura inside of one of the homes in the back. This home looked lived in, with furniture and even some growing plants and flowers along the sides of the house and inside in the courtyard. He set her down in a back room on the bed. "Wait here."

He left and then came back a few seconds later with towels. He wrapped one of the towels over Sakura's shoulders and then used the other one to pat at his hair. Taking off his wet jacket and then his shirt, he tossed them in a basket in the corner. Looking back at Sakura, he suggested, "You should take off your nightgown."

She looked down at herself. Ino's silk robe and night gown were about ruined. They were so wet, she might as well have been wearing nothing. But Sasuke was not offering any replacement clothes, and she did not feel quite right lounging around his room completely naked.

Sasuke smiled slyly, as Sakura looked down at herself, guessing what she was thinking. He was still buzzed from the alcohol as he climbed into his bed, under the sheets, and pulled her in with him. "I want you to sleep with me."

Sakura complied lying under the sheets with him. He pealed off her robe and then pulled the thin straps of her night gown down off her exposed shoulders so he could lay his head against her bare chest. Sakura let him wrap her in his arms, and she stroked his still wet hair. Soon they both fell asleep.

Not much later, Sakura awoke to Sasuke thrashing in the bed. He was turned away from her now. And in his sleep, he was yelling, "No! Leave them alone! Mama! Papa!"

Sakura placed her hand on Sasuke's back. He was in the depths of a nightmare. From his screams, she concluded he was dreaming about the night that his parents died. She whispered, soothingly, "It's just a dream Sasuke. You're safe here with me now."

Sasuke turned over and grabbed Sakura around the waist, pulling her into his body aggressively. She felt like he was going to break her ribs, he was hugging her so tight. She shook his shoulders. "Sasuke wake up!"

"Huh?" Sasuke finally opened his eyes after some prodding and released Sakura. He rolled away from her. His skittish black irises darted around the dark room, disoriented. "Sorry."

Sakura placed her hand on his arm. "It's ok. You were having a nightmare."

Sasuke reacted to her touch by snatching his arm away. He placed a hand on his forehead and moaned. "Too much damn alcohol."

He sat up straight and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sakura sat up in the bed too. "You brought me here. You don't remember anything that happened last night?"

Sasuke moved further away to the opposite edge of the bed, shaking his head. "I had too much to drink."

"I'll leave then." Disappointed, Sakura moved to climb out of the sheets, but Sasuke reached back and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"No. Don't go." Sasuke held on to her arm. "I'm being a jerk."

"Tonight was the first night I've been able to sleep here in years." He continued. He finally let her arm go, once he was satisfied she was no longer leaving, and then he got out of the bed and walked to the kitchen. He returned with two cups of water. He handed one to Sakura. "Even nightmares are better than watching the walls all night."

After they drank the water, Sasuke pulled Sakura back into the sheets with him. He lay his head on her chest again, falling back to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning still in her wet night gown. She was alone now in Sasuke's bed. He was sitting away from her on the edge of the bed again. This was the first time she was able to fully see Sasuke with his shirt, all of the way off. He had several scars etched over his back. She reached out and placed her hand on his back. He flinched underneath her touch, but he let her rest her palm on his scarred skin.

His room was stark and cold. The walls were black and the floors were a dark wood. Sakura assumed this was the same room that he had stayed in when he lived with his family. There were still a few drawings done by a young child on the walls and a small child's desk pushed in the corner. The only other furniture in the room were his bed, which had a large dark pine four post frame and black sheets, and a bedside table.

"So this is your home?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke looked at her and nodded.

He looked away and then stood up. "You're the first person, who's been here since…"

He did not finish his sentence, but she knew he meant since the day his brother murdered his parents.

Sasuke's face was stony and hard. All anger and fury. He was building walls again, but she only smiled at him gently. She got up on her knees in the bed and put her soft hands on his cheeks. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Surprisingly, Sasuke did not pull away or remove her hands. His face softened a bit as his fiery black eyes looked into her clear green eyes. He pulled her towards him, kissing her. Then he moved his lips from her mouth to her ear and whispered. "You're all pink and red and softness, Sakura. Everything I hate. But I've never wanted anyone as bad as I want you right now."


	4. Chapter 4

Laying on her stomach in his bed, Sakura listened to Sasuke in the kitchen. He was supposed to be cooking breakfast, but it sounded like he was fighting a war. She smiled to herself.

Just like everything else with Sasuke, the sex had been hot, passionate, and completely on his terms. Though in every other aspect of her life, Sakura needed a bit of control, she had not minded being a submissive in Sasuke's bed. After he made love to her, he had unbound her wrists from behind her back, and then tied her to the bed on her stomach spread eagle. Then he licked every inch of her body until she was screaming his name again, before he left her and went out into the kitchen.

It was clear he had left her bound to prevent her from following him into the kitchen to try and save him from whatever mess he was making in there.

Eventually she felt him enter the bedroom again though she could not move her head to see the door. He put another silk scarf over her eyes, so she was blind folded. He untied her arms and legs, and then he flipped her over again, rebinding her to the bed posts.

She felt something large and sweet in her mouth. He commanded, "Taste."

She bit down. It was soft and juicy.

He asked, "Sweeter or Salty?"

She responded, "Salty."

He placed something fluffy and salty in her mouth. Then he commanded, "Swallow."

Without chewing, she swallowed like she was told.

"Sweeter or Salty?"

This time she said, "Sweeter."

He gave her something sweet but harder in consistency. He commanded, "Lick."

She obeyed.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke left again.

They spent the entire day before making love over every surface in his house. He would only let her touch him with her mouth, keeping her restrained and completely under his control until he had his fill of her. After which, Sasuke fell asleep.

This time, Sakura watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful and exposed, everything that awake Sasuke was not. He let her snuggle into him. He smelled like cedar and earth. She loved this smell. It made her dizzy. Eventually, she had to go home to get ready for her shift at the hospital. She slipped out quietly, leaving him a note by the table next his bed.

As soon as her shift was over the next morning, she headed straight back to his house. That's when she discovered he had already left the village again. All of his clothes were gone.

She sat down on his bed and started to cry. Why had he left her again? What had she done wrong? Why would he do this to her?

She noticed the silk scarf, that he had used to bind her the day before, and the small piece of paper, that she had used to write her note, were still sitting on the table by his bed. She grabbed the paper. Underneath her own writing, there was a small note from him. It read, "Don't stop waiting for me. Sasuke."

She slipped the paper inside of her shirt and went home.

* * *

Three weeks later, Sasuke still had not returned.

Sakura felt herself slipping into the darker places in her mind. It took everything in her to continue to get up to go to work. But today was her day off, and she planned to stay in bed all day with the shades down and the door locked.

That's when a soft knock came from her front door. For a second she thought about ignoring the knock. But then it became a little more insistent. She opened the door to find Hinata standing on the other side.

"Hinata?" Sakura said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The other woman entered and hugged Sakura, saying in her soft voice, "I need you to come with me to help pick out furniture. Naruto got us such a nice place –I just want to decorate the house the way it deserves."

Hinata looked around Sakura's living room. "And you have such great taste. I was hoping you could help me."

Sakura did not want to mention that it had been Ino, who had picked out most of her furniture. But she knew Hinata was not really there for her decorating tips. Naruto was worried about her, and therefore, Hinata was worried about her. She replied, "Sure. Let me get dressed first."

As they spent the morning shopping, Sakura felt a bit better. She was trying to put on a good face for Hinata, who did not look like she was at her best either. And by proxy, Sakura was starting to make herself feel more upbeat.

By the time they made it to lunch, Sakura was really starting to worry about Hinata. She was looking even paler and like she wanted to throw up her entire stomach.

"Are you ok?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded before she got up and ran to the bathroom.

Sakura followed her. She held her hair, as Hinata vomited into the toilet. "Hinata how long have you been feeling like this?"

Hinata moved to the sink to wipe her face. "A week –maybe longer."

Sakura frowned. "Have you gotten your period lately?"

Hinata turned and looked at Sakura. "You think I'm pregnant?"

"Maybe!" Sakura said, smiling brightly. This news had pulled her right out of her funk. "Ooooh! I am going to be Aunt Sakura. I hope it's a girl –I plan to spoil her with lots of pink! Besides, a second Naruto might be too much for this village to handle."

Hinata looked down at her stomach and placed her hand over it. "Well. I guess I should go find out."

Sakura squeezed Hinata's hand and then watched as she left the restaurant. Sakura ordered a sandwich and made her way back to her apartment. Babies were so exciting. She could not wait to be a mother, herself.

Then she thought about Sasuke. She could not imagine how he would be as a father. If she waited for him, if she continued to play this game of hot and cold with him, she knew she would never have any children. How could she bring a child into that?

Now she was sad again. She curled up in her bed and spent the rest of the day as she had planned.

Another knock came a few hours later. It woke Sakura up from her nap. She was disoriented at first, not sure where she was or what time it was. Slipping on an old cotton robe, she padded to the door.

Hinata was standing outside of the door looking distraught.

"Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed. "Are you alright? What happened at the clinic?"

"Oh." Hinata waved her hand, nonchalantly. "I just have a stomach bug."

"So you're not pregnant?"

"No." Hinata squeaked. She gave Sakura an odd look, before she continued. "It's a good thing. I mean, we just got married. I think we still need some time to ourselves."

"Yeah. Ok." Sakura said, sadly. This day was just getting worse and worse. She could tell Hinata was not happy. And it was her fault. She had gotten her hopes up and for no reason at all.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't say anything to Naruto. I didn't want to get his hopes up or anything." Hinata added quickly.

This just made Sakura feel worse. They both were hoping for a child. Her heart lurched with a mix of sympathy and envy. Sakura hugged Hinata. "It's ok if you're disappointed. This will be our secret, ok Hin."

"Ok." Hinata hugged her back.

* * *

Sakura woke up to a dark room. She sat up, looking around, expectantly. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck. She was not alone.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noted Sasuke sitting at the bottom of her bed. She sighed. Fuck! He was back.

"I didn't want to wake you." Sasuke said. "You looked tired after Hinata left."

How long had he been there?

She asked too cheerfully, "Are you hungry? I'll make dinner."

She got out of the bed and walked over to her robe. She kept talking nonchalantly as if he were an old friend who had stopped by for a visit. "It's good to see you. I'm sure you'll want to see all of your other friends after dinner. You were gone a long time this time…"

Sasuke grabbed her arm before she made it to the robe. She tried to yank her arm away, but somehow he managed to hold on tight. He stood up and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Sakura pushed his arm away, hoping he'd get the hint. Sasuke did not budge.

"I'm not falling for this again!" She screamed at him. But Sasuke refused to let her go, his face completely expressionless. Eventually she put her arms up in between their bodies and pushed her arms out against his. Sasuke's arms gave way to Sakura's strength easily, opening up enough to release her.

Sakura adjusted her night gown and shook her head. "The last time was the last time."

She walked out of the room. But she heard him say after her, "I asked you to wait for me."

Sakura turned on her heel and stomped back into the room until she was standing right in his face. "How long Sasuke? How long should I wait? Until I'm old and gray and you're on your death bed. Then maybe you'll admit that you love me and that you want to share your life with me and all of the other things you never say."

Sasuke's face did not change. He lifted up his hand slowly. Then he poked her on her forehead. "You're asking for things that I can't give you, Sakura. All I know about love are the terrible sacrifices that one makes to protect one's loved ones. You deserve better than me. You deserve a man who will say all of those things that you want to hear. So I stay away to protect you."

Sakura's mouth opened, but she did not know what to say.

"And because of the all of the reasons why I want to protect you, I cannot let you go." Sasuke continued. "It's unfair. But it's who I am. I'm trying to find a better way. You are the reason why I continue to search. I can't tell you how long it will take –it may take forever. But I'm still asking you to wait for me."

Sakura sighed. She knew this was his way of telling her that he loved her without actually saying it. She held out her hand to him. "I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

Warning if this is not your thing: detailed graphic material ahead.

* * *

Sakura lay with her head on Sasuke's chest, listening to his even breaths as he slept. She had been asleep for half the day, so she was no longer tired. Besides, she wanted to enjoy every minute that she had with him because she knew it was limited.

A loud knock abruptly interrupted the quiet in the apartment. Sasuke stirred at the sound, kissing the top of Sakura's head. He mumbled, "who is that?"

"I don't know. I'll find out." Sakura said, getting up out of the bed. She threw on her robe and went to answer the door. It was definitely not Hinata again. This knock was not polite. It was loud and insistent… almost obnoxious. She shouted through the door. "I'M COMING! GEESH!"

She opened the door to Naruto this time. He looked as distraught as Hinata did earlier. "Have you seen Hinata! I think something is wrong."

"She left maybe three or four hours ago. She didn't say she was going home though." Sakura said.

Naruto frowned. "It's not like Hinata to not be at home when I get there."

"I think you're worried for no reason, Naruto. She may have gone to visit her father." Sakura replied soothingly. She moved closer to Naruto and took him by surprise by giving him a hug. "You are such a good husband to Hinata. You'll make a good father one day too."

"Uh? Ok?" Naruto stuttered. "Are you ok, Sakura?"

"I'm ok." Sakura stepped back wiping her eyes. "Just a little emotional today."

"Did you hear from Sasuke?"

"He came home. He was here just before you." Sakura lied. She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her back as he stood in the bedroom doorway behind her. She burst into tears.

Naruto pulled Sakura back into his arms, letting her cry into his chest. Eventually she said, "Sorry… You have other things to worry about besides the drama between me and Sasuke."

"I always have time for you, Sakura." Naruto said letting her move away again.

"I know. But now you need to go find Hinata." Sakura stated.

Naruto nodded. She watched him run from her door into the night after Hinata. The fear in his face and the urgency in his continence made her heart ache.

Then she felt Sasuke's arms around her waist. He whispered, "Come back to bed."

Giving in to all of the intense emotions only he was able to arouse inside of her, she leaned back into him. He kissed her neck, running his tongue along her jaw bone until he felt her shudder. Gently but firmly, he pulled her hair to the left exposing her neck to him. He reached up her night gown and pushed her panties to the side to feel her wetness. He bit down softly on the nape of her neck and began to suck. She moaned from the pain and the pleasure of his mouth. She could feel Sasuke harden behind her.

He moved her body forward and pushed her face down over the dining room table. Dropping his pants and moving her panties out the way again, he thrust into her. He moved against her, pulling her head back with her hair so she arched back towards him. Her squeals of pleasure egged him on. Still grinding against her, he leaned over her, kissing her shoulders and the back of her neck until he felt her trembling.

Sasuke pulled Sakura back up. He walked her to her bedroom doorway, and then, he left her to grab one of her scarves off of her dresser. He lifted her arms above her head, pulling her night gown up and off, so she only wore her panties. He tied her wrists together and above her head, so she hung from the pull up bar that she kept in her bedroom doorway. He moved behind her. She could feel his hard shaft pressed against her soft behind. He kissed the back of her neck and grabbed at her breasts. Then he forcefully spread her legs and moving his fingers urgently between her folds until she was moaning and arching into his hand.

She begged him to satisfy her. But his fingers, expertly held back just enough to keep her wanting more. He growled into her ear. "Tell me how you want it?"

"Sasuke..."

"Tell me." He demanded again. He moved one of his fingers into her as he nipped the back of her neck.

She pushed down on his finger, attempting to find some relief. "Hard!"

Without hesitation, she felt him thrust into her from behind again. Pushing against her harder until they were straining the bar and her binds. She groaned as he continued deeper, and pressed her butt back into his hips to urge him on. Sakura let him have full control and rested against the restraints above her head. Her entire body trembled with pleasure as he rocked harder inside of her.

Sakura moaned again as Sasuke grasped her hips, pushing into her further. Her mounting pleasure took over Sasuke too. He began to move his hips faster against her. She felt a wave of pleasure run through her body as she came. Sasuke grabbed her breasts as her body spasmed. Not long after, Sasuke's entire body contracted, and he climaxed too. He backed up, pulling out of her.

Then he watched her as she hung in front of him. Her pink hair touseled around her head and her breasts exposed. He felt himself harden again. He moved up behind her, rubbing in between her legs until he felt her get wet and ready for him again. Sakura moaned from where she hung. She looked exhausted but this only acted to arouse Sasuke even more.

He pushed into her again. This time moving slowly inside of her. He rubbed both of her nipples until their hardened. "I know your tired. But I want you one more time."

"Ummm." Sakura said accepting the pleasure again. "Yes. Take me again."

* * *

The next morning Sakura and Sasuke awoke to the entire village turned upside down. Half of the Hyuga ninja were dead and Hinata was still missing.

Like everyone else in the village, Sakura was in shock. She had just seen Hinata the day before. She seemed shaken by the pregnancy scare, but none of that coincided with massacring half of her clan and disappearing into thin air. How was that even possible? Hinata was not nearly the strongest ninja, and she was definitely not powerful enough to kill half of her clan.

There was more to this story. Sakura felt this in every bone in her body. The Leaf Village had a way of cleaning up its messes, sometimes at the cost of its own people. Some thing was not quite right with the story of Hinata's disappearance. She sensed this and Naruto sensed this too.

"They still haven't found her body?" Sakura asked Iruka after a week had passed and still there were no answers. He shook his head as they stood outside of the Hokage's office. Sasuke was inside with Naruto, Lord Kakashi, and Shikamaru. "Well, maybe Naruto is right and she's still out there. I want to go with them if they leave to search."

Iruka shook his head. "Naruto hasn't been able to sense her. The only way that is possible is if she… Well, you know."

The door was flung open then. Naruto came storming out. He looked wild-eyed at Sakura, but it was almost like he was looking through her. In a rage, he yelled, "I'M GOING ALONE THEN! If no one else plans to search for her, I'll do it myself! SHE'S NOT DEAD!"

"Naruto…" Shikamaru started. But Kakashi raised his hand at Shikamaru.

"Let him go." Kakashi said. "If he needs to go, then he can go."

Without another word, Naruto thundered down the hallway. Sakura watched him leave, and then she looked at Sasuke, wondering if one of them should go after him. Sasuke shook his head, no.

"What about the memorial, Lord Sixth?" Shikamaru asked of Kakashi. "Should we wait for Naruto to come back?"

"Speak to her father. We'll do what he wants." Kakashi replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Hinata's memorial was a few days later, but Naruto was still gone. Sakura stood next to Sasuke in the front. She looked around the crowd of mourners. Most of the village was present. The tomb stone was draped with lavender wild flowers –which apparently was Hinata's favorite flower. Hinata's father stood at the center with Hanabi, who sobbed loudly into his sleeve.

"Naruto should've been here." Sakura whispered up to Sasuke. "It's not right. They should've waited for him to come back."

"I agree. But Naruto knew when he left that the memorial was going to happen." Sasuke replied. "He doesn't want a memorial. He wouldn't have come even if he was here."

Sakura wiped her eyes. Naruto was so steadfast in everything that he believed in. And he was certain that Hinata was not dead. She was not sure how they could help him. "We have to do something."

Sasuke said, "If he believes she's alive, then we believe she's alive. And we do what it takes to find her."

Sasuke moved some of Sakura's hair behind her ear tenderly. Sakura looked down, as he took her hand. She was not certain if it was the best idea to buy into Naruto's obsession with finding Hinata. But she said, "Ok."

"He needs us to carry some of his pain, so he can keep living on without her." Sasuke said, knowingly. "Let it change us… not him."

Sakura nodded again. Sasuke squeezed her hand. She was starting to think Sasuke might already be changing. He had never held her hand before. He had never touched her so affectionately. This moment was not about lust, and it was not about friendship. It was about caring, loving, and cherishing her.

That night when they made love, Sasuke allowed her to have some control. It was gentle and kind and something that their love making had never been before. And then when they were done and lying naked and wrapped in each other's arms, he told her everything she ever wanted to hear him say. Maybe not with the words that she imagined. But it was close enough.

"I'm going to go find Naruto tomorrow and bring him back. Then I plan to tell him that I'll take over searching for Hinata, so he can go back to working towards become Hokage." Sasuke said, as they lay facing each other in the bed. It was early morning now, and soft light from the rising sun was streaming in Sasuke's small window. "That means I'm going to have to leave Konohagakure again."

Sakura looked up at the ceiling. She felt an overwhelming sadness wash over her, but she knew that Sasuke had to go this time. And this time he was not leaving because he wanted to get away from her. This was also the first time he had ever voluntarily told her that he was leaving. He almost seemed to be asking her permission. She looked at him again, reaching her hand out and placing it on his face. "I know you have to do this."

"But this time, I want you to know without any doubt, that I'm coming back to you." He said, cautiously. Sakura could see in his eyes that the wall that he kept around his heart had come down in this moment. "I want you to know that no matter how many times I leave. No matter how long I'm gone, that I will always come back to you, Sakura."

Sasuke got up out of his bed. He left the bedroom for a few minutes and then returned holding something in his palm. He reached his hand out to Sakura.

Sakura took his hand and was pulled up out of the bed. He pushed her down, so she was seated at the edge of the bed then he sat down next to her. He opened his palm, revealing a small diamond ring. "It was my mother's ring. And it was my father's mother's ring before that. It probably would have gone to Itachi if he had lived. And I emptied some drawers in the other room… so you can move in here. Naruto has reestablished his clan. I need to reestab…"

"Yes. I'll marry you." Sakura said before this proposal got anymore awkward.

Sasuke kept going, however, not deterred. "I want to marry you when I get back with Naruto. Just you and me… before I leave again to search for Hinata."

"Ok." Sakura agreed. She had always dreamed of a large wedding. Like the one Shikamaru and Temari had. She would be in a white kimono with red trim, and Sasuke in his black jacket, in front of all of their friends and family …well her family. But, Sasuke might not show up if she tried to force a large wedding on him. And it would be a huge reminder of the fact that he had no family or clan anymore. So she agreed to elope. She just wanted to be his wife anyway.

He slipped the ring on her ring finger. "I'll ask Kakashi to preform the ceremony."

Sakura looked at Sasuke cautiously. "What about Naruto? Will he come?"

The question hung in the air. She could not imagine the two of them getting married without him there. He had been there from the beginning. The glue that kept them together. But would it be kind to ask him to be at their wedding, knowing he would feel obligated to say yes.

"I'll talk to Naruto once I find him." Sasuke said. "He won't feel forced to say yes to me. And if he feels he can be there, he'll come. Ask Ino and Sai to stand as witnesses, in case he can't come."


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura borrowed a white slip dress from Ino, who helped her put her hair up with a large white lily on the side. Then Ino lightly painted Sakura's face with soft pinks and reds.

"You look beautiful Sakura." Ino said after she was done, stepping back to admire her work. She closed her make up case and asked, hesitantly. "Is Naruto coming?"

"I don't know." Sakura said, sadly. "Sasuke said he would tell him about the ceremony."

"Oh." Ino said. Then she continued cheerfully. "Well, Sai and I will be there. And most importantly, Sasuke will be there."

"Yep." 'He better be', Sakura chuckled to herself.

* * *

Of course, Sasuke was standing between Kakashi and Sai when Sakura and Ino showed up to the Hokage's office. He was dressed in all black with the Uchiha crest on his sleeve and back.

With his first glimpse of her in white silk and soft pinks and reds, his face went from hard lines to smooth curves and arcs. His eyes relaxing into huge expectant black pools. Sakura dove deep into those eyes as she walked toward him to stand by his side.

As Sasuke began his vows, the door opened quietly and Naruto slipped into the room. Sakura smiled up at Sasuke. Now her day was complete. Only Sasuke could have gotten him there. She squeezed his hands as they stood facing each other.

Kakashi completed the ceremony. Sakura was so caught up in the moment that she heard and saw nothing but Sasuke. And when it finished, she could hardly believe that she was married.

Naruto did not stay after the ceremony finished. Sakura was glad that he came, but she started to worry after he left so quickly.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" She asked Sasuke as they walked back to the old section of the village. "Maybe we should check on him."

"Let him have some space." Sasuke replied.

"But…"

"I'll go over and check on him later if that will make you feel better." Sasuke led her to their home which sat in the midst of the other abandoned Uchiha homes, many of them rundown and falling apart. Sasuke knew it was asking Sakura a lot to stay in this ghost town alone. He turned to her as they reached the door. "Maybe you should keep your apartment. You know… for when I'm not here."

Sakura shook her head, firmly. "No. I'm an Uchiha now. I'll live here where my clan lives."

Picking her up off of her feet, he carried her into the house. He did not set her down once they were inside but kept going to their bedroom.

Sasuke had been busy while Sakura was gone. His room was no longer all blacks and browns but now was half red and pink. He put her down in the door way. His bed was covered with Sakura's pink and red comforter. And her vanity was set in the corner where the old desk had been. Two large suitcases were set in the middle of the floor with clothes bursting out of them. He had even moved her pull up bar and put it in his door way. Though she figured he did not move it for her to use for pull ups.

"Naruto helped me." Sasuke informed her. "He didn't think he would be able to stay long at the ceremony –since that's where he and Hinata got married too. But, he wanted to do something for you. He told me this is what you would want."

Sakura smiled ear to ear. "You hate pink and red."

"Yes I do." Sasuke said matter-of-factly. "But you don't."

* * *

Sasuke left the next day. But this time Sakura did not mind. She got up early to walk with him to the gate of the village. Then she kissed him good bye, and he poked her on the forehead, before walking away, disappearing into the woods.

Sakura went straight to work afterwards. She felt like keeping herself busy would be the best way to keep from missing Sasuke. She picked up her charts at the nurse's station and then moved further down the hall way to the office. Ino was already in the office since she took Sakura's night shift, so that Sakura could spend her wedding night with her husband.

"So how do you feel today?" Ino asked, brightly. "Do you feel different now that you're a married woman?"

Sakura giggled. "Why don't you try it and see?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Sai has been asking."

"And you haven't said yes?" Sakura frowned. "Why are you hesitating? You love Sai, don't you? I mean, you guys are the last ones. Even Sasuke and I managed to get it together."

"I don't know." Ino said. "I guess I really don't see the point. We're living like a married couple already. And there is no way I would get away with eloping like you and Sasuke. My mother would flip."

"You don't want a big wedding?" Sakura asked, skeptically. Ino was not going to convince her that she did not want a big wedding with a reception and everyone focused completely on Ino.

"I don't know." Ino sighed. Then she changed the subject. "What did your parents say when you told them that you eloped?"

Sakura sighed. "About that."

"You haven't told them?!" Ino asked, with fake astonishment.

"I mean…" Sakura cringed. She was not looking forward to talking with her parents about her marriage. Neither one of them were fans of Sasuke. And she was tired of defending her relationship to them. Despite all of his power, Sasuke would never be acknowledged as the village hero. And his morals and methods would always be gray. Sakura accepted that, but her parents... not so much. "Not really… and not looking forward to it."

"If my mom can stomach Sai, your parents can certainly get over whatever problem they have with Sasuke." Ino rolled her eyes. "It's not their life –it's yours."

"Can you tell them that for me?" Sakura asked, earnestly before getting up to go see her first patient.

* * *

Sakura sat at her parent's dining table and moved the food around on her plate. She had no appetite. She actually felt nauseous.

"So how is everything at the hospital?" Sakura's mother, Mebuki, asked.

"Great." Sakura said, a bit too chipper.

Her father gave her a quizzical look. "Are you sure?"

"I have something important to tell you." Sakura took a deep breath. "It's something that you're not going to like."

"What is it, Sakura dear?" Mebuki asked, leaning towards her daughter and looking concerned.

"I'm married." Sakura said quickly, before wincing. "I eloped yesterday."

"What?!" Mebuki started. "I don't believe I'm hearing you correctly?!"

"Mebuki, dear." Kizashi said calmly to his wife.

"Oh no!" Mebuki yelled, shaking her head defiantly. "Sakura would NOT get married without telling her own parents. That is not my Sakura!"

"Dear." Kizashi said again, this time sharper. "We all just need to calm down and talk it out. I'm sure Sakura has a good reason for all of this. By the way… which lucky man is my new son-in-law?"

Mebuki crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at her husband. "Ok. Let's hear it."

Sakura shoveled another large spoonful of food in her mouth to put off the explanation a bit longer. Then she mumbled. "I married Sasuke."

"WHAT!" Mebuki roared. She stood up, bumping the table and causing some of the food to fly off of the plates.

Kizashi spit out a bit of his food, choking. "O.. K.. Well. I guess we really shouldn't be surprised. So you're an Uchiha now. And where is he? Why isn't he here with you?"

Now Sakura really cringed. "He left."

"What do you mean he left?! The village? The day after your wedding?" Mebuki sat back down and grasped at her chest. "I knew he was bad news. This just gets better and better. Next thing you know –you're telling us that you're pregnant by that heathen."

Sakura's stomach turned, and she vomited all over the table.


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura sat in the clinic a couple of days later. She held the paper that was just handed to her, reading it over and over again.

She always knew that pregnancy was a possibility. She and Sasuke had been together multiple times in the last six months without any protection. But she had already given up on the idea of being a mother when she finally conceded that she couldn't live without Sasuke. How could she raise a child with a completely unavailable father? It was one thing to marry Sasuke and something totally different to ask him to be a father. But it had happened so quickly. He had just left a little over a week ago and who knew how long he would be gone.

What if he did not come back for months? What if he did not come back before she gave birth? Should she go after him? And how was he going to feel about a child? Sakura crumbled up the paper and walked out of the clinic. She walked across the village, not heading anywhere in particular.

Finally, she stopped in front of the house of the only person, who she could talk to about this. She did not want to burden him with her problems. She and Sasuke were supposed to be unburdening him. But he was the only person who knew Sasuke better than she did.

She knocked on the door of Naruto's house. He opened the door looking like he had for the last month, with black circlets around his eyes, his clothes wrinkled as though he had slept in them. He had lost weight, and his shirt and pants hung off his body in an awkward manner.

Sakura walked past him into the house. The place was a mess. There were casserole dishes all over the living room. Some with half eaten and rotting food in them. Naruto had piles of clothes on the floor, on the kitchen counters, and allover what was left of the living room furniture that Hinata had taken so much time picking out. The couch and the chairs looked like a bomb had been dropped on them. Sakura guessed that Naruto's reaction to the delivery men dropping off the furniture, that Hinata had bought the day she disappeared, was pretty ugly.

"I came to clean." Sakura lied. After she saw Naruto, she could not worry him with any of her concerns. She felt too guilty. Plus, it was not right that he was living in filth. The only things in the house that looked well preserved were the items that Hinata left behind, like her coat and shoes at the door.

"Oh hi Sakura." Naruto said miserably. "You don't have to."

"Yes I do." Sakura said, firmly. She rolled up her sleeves and grabbed all of the cleaning supplies that she could find. She started in the living room and worked her way upstairs.

When she got to his bedroom, she almost broke down and cried. The place looked like a shrine. It was highly possible that Naruto had not been in this room since Hinata disappeared. The bed was still half made. Hinata's night gown lay neatly on the bottom of the neater side of the bed with a pair of silk slippers on the floor. Naruto's pajama bottoms lay in a bunch across from Hinata's night gown. His side of the bed looked like someone made it up and then rolled on top of the covers. The room smelled of lavender perfume mixed with the musky smell Naruto always carried with him. Dead lavender wild flowers set on the window sill. And while Naruto's half of the closet was near empty, the rest of the closet was still full of Hinata's clothes. Dust was starting to build up on them.

"You don't need to touch anything in there." Naruto said from the doorway to the bedroom. He looked around the room but he did not step foot inside.

Sakura nodded, and then she quickly exited the room. The place looked like Hinata still lived there. That she may walk into the house at any moment. Sakura closed the door behind her. He was going to have to eventually deal with that room, but Sakura was not going to be the one to tell him.

She finished cleaning the other rooms and then went back downstairs to find Naruto sitting at the table. She sat down across from him.

"Why did you really come here today?" Naruto asked, looking at her with hollow eyes.

Sakura looked down at her hands. "I really shouldn't bother you with this. You have too many other things to deal with."

"I told you before that I always have time for you." Naruto replied, sincerely. "Besides, anything to get my mind off of Hinata would be good to hear."

"I'm pregnant." Sakura said quickly, before she changed her mind. "I just found out today –so Sasuke doesn't know."

Naruto sat up and smiled, taking Sakura's hands. His lips smiled, but the sadness stayed in his eyes. "That's great."

"So you think Sasuke will be happy about… a child?" Sakura asked, biting her lip. "I don't know. I'm just not sure if he'll be happy about this."

"He'll be happy." Naruto said with certainty. "He may not realize it at first… but family is the most important thing to Sasuke and that is what this child and you are to him."

"You're his family too Naruto." Sakura said. "And mine. Don't forget that."

"Send a message to him about the baby." Naruto insisted. He squeezed her hands. "He's out there for Hinata. He should know I'm here for you and his child."


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura threw her cloak over herself. She had waited long enough. It had been seven long months. She was so pregnant that she was almost ready to burst, and Sasuke had only sent obscure messages about his whereabouts and that he had not found any sign of Hinata yet. But neither she nor Naruto received a response back from Sasuke about her or their child.

He had not sent any messages to Sakura at all. This hurt her immensely at the beginning, but then as she settled into her pregnancy, she spent all of her energy on preparing for the baby.

During the last months of her pregnancy, she started having strangely vivid dreams. About sleeping next to Sasuke and waking up in his arms. About traveling with him through the places that he wrote to Naruto about. Sometimes she dreamed of these places before the messages even came. The dreams seemed so real, that sometimes she woke up crying. And then there were the times she woke up with the feeling that some one had been watching her.

She stayed in the old section of the village despite the fact that it looked like her husband had abandoned her. She set up the nursery in the Uchiha home and she embroidered all of her clothes and her baby's clothes with the Uchiha symbol. Sasuke was her husband, and she was an Uchiha, despite all the whispers and stares from the rest of village about her poor pathetic state.

Now, Sakura was done with it all. She was leaving the village today, and she was going to find Sasuke.

She managed to intercept a message from Sasuke meant for Naruto, informing him that Sasuke was in the Land of Wind near one of Orochimaru's hideouts. It was not that far away. Sakura could make it there. It should only take a week at most. She was so far along in her pregnancy that she had been taken off of the hospital schedule already, and being that she had no neighbors, no one would miss her.

She knew she was putting herself at risk of being denounced as rogue, since she was leaving the village unsanctioned by the hokage to go after her husband, who technically was rogue himself. But it was a risk she was willing to take to make sure her child was born with a father.

So she packed her bag, and she put on her cloak. She walked out of the village gate disappearing into the woods the way she knew that Sasuke had a hundred times before.

It did take a week to get to the area of the Land of Wind, where Sasuke said he was staying. Sakura could only move so fast, and she kept herself bundled to conceal her large belly. So when the afternoons became too hot, she had to find a shady place to sit and rest. She stayed in motels along the way at night.

When she finally made it to her destination, she still had not come up with a plan of how to actually contact Sasuke. She could search for the hideout and hope that he was there. But he might leave if he was notified of her presence before she actually found him. And how was she even going to find the location of the hideout in the first place?

She sat in the room that she rented in the local inn for about an hour, mulling this over. Then she went back down stairs to see if she could find a map. That's when she ran into fate.

A very red haired woman with even redder eyes and brown framed glasses was yelling at the poor man at the front desk. "I'm her cousin! Her very closest friend! I'm not sure why you can't just let me in her room!"

The man looked at Karin skeptically. "You look nothing like her. Besides it's policy –no one but the guest is allowed in the room. "

He pointed to a sign. Karin scowled at him in response. "OOOOOH!"

Sakura moved from the stairs to the front desk and addressed the enraged woman. "Who are you looking for? Can I help?"

Sakura asked this, but she was almost certain that Karin was there looking for her.

She happened to be right. Karin turned and looked at Sakura, realizing that she was caught, and her mouth dropped open. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here? I knew I felt a noxious presence coming from this direction."

"I'm looking for Sasuke. And since I'm certain you can tell me where he is, I won't rearrange your face." Sakura replied, cracking her knuckles.

"Threatening me?" Karin asked, tauntingly. "Sasuke won't like that."

"I doubt Sasuke will care." Sakura retorted.

Rage flashed over Karin's face. She rammed her finger in Sakura's face. "SASUKE MAY HAVE MARRIED YOU! BUT HE'S BEEN WITH ME FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS!"

The red headed woman snarled. "if he doesn't care about anyone –it's you."

Sakura reached back and decked Karin in the nose.

"OWWW!" Karin grabbed her broken nose. The pain was unbearable, but that was not what shocked her most. Sakura's cloak had fallen open, and it revealed her very pregnant stomach.

The hotel manager yelled from behind the desk. "Both of you need to get out!"

* * *

Sakura stood outside of the inn with her bag in her hand. Now what? This was the only inn in the area. And that shit head, Karin, had just gotten her kicked out of it.

"You're coming with me." Karin told her with a nasally sounding voice. Her nose was still very broken.

Sakura turned on the woman and roared, "You looking for another fight?! I can hurt you more –if you want."

"I don't want to fight." Karin cowered a bit, holding up her hands in front of her. "I want to help. You're carrying Sasuke's child aren't you?"

Sakura looked down at her stomach. "Yes. I'm his wife. Whose child would it be?"

"Then I'm going to take you to him." Karin said.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Why would you do that?"

"We both love Sasuke." Karin replied, lowering her eyes to her feet. "Just like you, I'd do anything for him. And we both know the only things Sasuke really cares about are power and blood. That baby is an Uchiha, so I'm bound to protect it."

Sakura nodded, placing a hand on her stomach. She could feel her baby kicking, and she was starting to cramp a bit. To top it off, she had nowhere to go. There was no other choice but to trust this woman, who claimed she loved Sasuke too.

So she followed Karin away from the motel and into the surrounding woods. As they climbed the path that led deep into the mountainside, the cramping started to get worse. There had been a few practice contractions over the last week that she traveled, but the current contractions seemed to be stronger and more insistent.

By the time they reached the hideout, Sakura was ready to lie down. Karin led her down a corridor lit by candle light, and then she turned back to Sakura. She pointed to a room. "Sasuke should be inside there. Just walk in –he'll be sooo happy to see you."

Sakura was too exhausted and in too much pain to argue with the woman. She went to the door and opened it, stepping inside. It was a bedroom, but it was completely empty. She heard the door slam behind her. She turned and reached for the door knob. It was locked. She doubled over with the next contraction. She called. "Karin! The baby is coming! Please help!"

Karin yelled back through the door. "Just lie on the bed! I'll be back!"

Sakura moved to the bed and lay down. She could tell by the things in the room that this was likely Karin's room, not Sasuke's room. The next contraction came with even more force, and Sakura cried out in pain.

She gathered her thoughts. She had to breath through the contractions. She could not start pushing yet. Other women had delivered babies without help. It would be dangerous, but she had to do this. Her baby's life and her life depended on it.

Sakura started to breath through her contractions. They were coming closer and lasting longer.

Finally, the door opened again, and Karin came into the room, relocking the door behind her. She carried towels with her and a large tub. She went into her bathroom and started filling the tub.

"Sakura." Karin said, approaching the bed. "I'm going to have to check you to see where the baby is."

Sakura nodded, sweat dripping down the side of her face. She let Karin check the position of the baby.

"The head is crowning."

Karin pulled Sakura up and helped her to the tub. "You're going to have to push now."

Sakura and Karin worked together to usher the baby into the world. And soon, a pink little girl with black hair appeared in the tub of water. Karin picked the baby up, cut the umbilical cord, and began to wrap her in the towels. "She looks just like Sasuke."

Sakura was barely awake and still in the tub of bloody water. She said weakly, "I want to see my baby."

Karin looked at Sakura hesitantly, still rocking the squalling baby in her arms. She did not appear to want to give the baby back. But then, there was a loud knock on her door. "Shit!"

Quickly, Karin handed the baby to her mother. The crying settled down as the little one fell asleep against the warmth of her mother's breasts.

The knocking became more insistent. Karin went to the door and answered. It was Jugo. Karin looked over her shoulder at Sakura. If Jugo was here, that meant that Sasuke was back too.

"What is going on?" Jugo frowned at Karin. His bulky frame, filling the door way. "It sounded like someone was dying in there."

"Leave her." Sasuke said to Jugo, as he passed by. He barely looked in Karin's direction. "Just as long as she doesn't involve us in whatever scheme she is up to."

Sakura heard Sasuke's voice from inside of the room. She called weakly, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke stopped walking. He turned back to Karin's door, and paused for a second, not sure if he heard what he just heard.

Jugo growled at Karin. "Who is in there with you?"

Jugo pushed the door further open, shoving Karin back into the room. Karin whimpered and then scampered to the far corner of the room. Both Jugo and Sasuke entered the room to find Sakura in the tub holding her baby.

Sasuke looked at Karin with her large purple nose and her hands bloody from delivering Sakura's baby. Rage spread over his face like wild fire. He demanded. "What is this?!"

"She came here to find you and then the baby started to come –and I had to deliver her –it's a girl, Sasuke." Karin stammered out quickly, fearing for her life.

Sasuke looked at Sakura and his daughter again. He went over to the tub and then gently picked them both up. Without a word, Sasuke carried them out of Karin's room and out of the hide out.


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura woke up to her baby crying. She was in another room, in a clean bed, and above ground. Sasuke must have carried her to a motel. He had changed her clothes as well. She wore a clean night gown and underwear from her pack. Her baby was wrapped in the yellow blanket that Sakura brought with her for after the birth. She picked up the baby and placed her to her breast to quiet her down.

Sasuke was standing with his back to them by a window. He was only half dressed himself. His jacket and shirt were gone, bloody from carrying Sakura from the hideout right after she gave birth. He turned around and looked at her with the baby. As usual, his face was expressionless. He said, "I'm taking you and your baby back to Konoha as soon as you're strong enough."

"I'm not going back, if you're not coming back too." Sakura said, looking down at their daughter. "We will stay with you from now on."

"That's not an option." Sasuke said coldly.

"Have you held your daughter yet?" Sakura asked, ignoring him. She had not missed Sasuke's reference to the baby as only her baby.

Something akin to fear passed through Sasuke's black eyes. "It's better if I don't."

"Why didn't you come back Sasuke?" Sakura asked now. "Why didn't you respond to any of Naruto's or my letters about our baby?"

Sasuke turned away again, staring back out the window. He mumbled, "I did come back."

"When? Naruto never…"

"He didn't know. No one knew." Sasuke interrupted.

Sakura remembered all of her recent strange dreams. And the intense feeling of someone watching her. She thought it was living among all those abandoned houses that was playing tricks on her mind. "You were watching me? Weren't you? And those weren't dreams… you were putting me in genjutsu."

Sasuke did not reply.

Sakura did not even bother to ask why. She just said, "It's time to hold your daughter."

She held the baby out to him. Sasuke did not turn around. "I've never held a baby. I might drop her. You shouldn't offer your baby to me."

Sakura did not move. She continued to hold the baby out. Finally, Sasuke turned around, seeming perturbed. "What did I…"

As he encountered the fiercely determined look in Sakura's green eyes, he broke off.

Sasuke hesitantly moved towards the child, and then, he let Sakura place the baby in his arms. He held her awkwardly as if she would break at any moment. Sakura could see an overwhelmed look spreading across his impassive face.

"What is her name?" Sakura asked him, not offering to take the baby back.

Sasuke looked up at Sakura. "You haven't named her yet?"

"No." Sakura shook her head, firmly. "You should name her."

Sasuke looked down at the baby in his arms. The baby yawned and started to mew. She tossed off part of her blanket as she stretched out her little hands at him. He moved his right hand to wrap the blanket again, and she grasped hold of one his fingers. Sasuke's eyes softened and he said, "Her name will be Sarada then –Sarada Uchiha."

"Ok." Sakura reached out to take her baby back from Sasuke. But Sasuke moved away, keeping the baby with him. Sakura smiled. She lay back down in the bed and watched them together. Feeling somewhat content for the first time since her wedding night, she felt her eyes get heavy again and she quickly fell asleep.

When she woke again, Sarada was lying wrapped in the blanket next her. She felt Sasuke's arm draped over her waist and his breath at the back of her neck as he lay against her. Sarada made a little crying sound, her face becoming red with anger.

Sakura moved the baby to her breast, careful to keep from disturbing Sasuke. But he was not asleep. So he sat up with Sakura, kissing her on the forehead as she fed the baby.

When she was done, Sasuke took Sarada from Sakura, kissing her little forehead as well. He looked at his wife and said, "After you feel stronger, you and Sarada will travel with me to the Land of Earth. There is a possible tip there about Hinata."

"Hinata may be alive?" Sakura asked, excitedly, sitting up straighter in the bed.

"I don't know. I was told there was a ninja there who is telling a story about a female rogue shinobi." Sasuke replied, playing with Sarada's hands with his fingers. "It may be nothing. But it's the most I've found so far."

Sakura leaned forward and kissed Sasuke on the cheek. "Thank you for letting us come with you."

Sasuke turned his face towards Sakura's face, kissing her on the lips. Sakura lingered in his kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

Sakura followed Sasuke and Jugo through the small village at the eastern edge of the Land of Earth. She carried Sarada swaddled in a sling in front of her chest.

Though Sakura knew Jugo had a dangerous side, the only thing she saw from him was his unwavering loyalty to Sasuke. This extended to her and her daughter. Sometimes when Sakura needed an extra hand, he would hold Sarada for her. He was always so gentle with her.

But when Sasuke found out, he was not happy. He warned Sakura that Jugo was prone to raging fits, and she should not let the man ever touch Sarada again. From then on, Sasuke seemed to get nervous if Jugo even looked in the baby's direction. But he did not refuse Jugo's offer to travel with them to the Land of Earth.

They arrived at a small house in the back of the village. A white haired man with lavender eyes and sharply chiseled teeth approached them, carry an enormous sword, which looked like it was possibly the same size as him.

"Suigetsu." Sasuke greeted the man. "Where is this informant?"

"Sasuke." Suigetsu walked past Sasuke and stopped in front of Sakura, staring hungrily at her. "Where'd you get the hottie? This is definitely a step up from Karin."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something smart back. But Sasuke stepped between her and shark boy, blocking Suigetsu's line of sight. "This is my wife. Sakura Uchiha."

Catching the hint, Suigetsu put up his hands in surrender. "Sorry man. Didn't know you got married."

"He has a little girl now too." Jugo added, jovially.

"The informant!?" Sasuke demanded, turning the conversation back to business.

"He's inside." Suigetsu moved over to the house and opened the door. The inside of the house opened up into one large room. There was a bed pushed against the far wall which contained a man lying on his back.

"He was half alive when they found him." Suigetsu explained. "He's not awake enough right now to tell us anything."

Sakura attempted to move past the others. "I can heal him."

Sasuke stuck his hand out in front of her to stop her. He asked, Suigetsu. "Who is this man?"

"He's an Iwagakure ninja, named Dai. He was out on a mission for his village… until he encountered –what he has been calling a ghost."

"A ghost?" Sakura asked.

"He said the spirit entered his body and drained him of chakra. That's how he ended up in this state."

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other. She said, "Let me inspect him, huh?"

Sasuke nodded confirmation and moved his hand away.

Sakura removed Sarada's sling and handed her to Sasuke. She moved over to the man. He was young, twenty at most. He still wore his ninja headband. He did not have any bruising or cuts on the outside of his body. But he was just barely conscious.

"Mom?" He mumbled to Sakura as she kneeled down next to the bed.

"It's ok. I'm here to help you." She reached her hands out over his body and started to scan. Dai grabbed at her wrists and started to squeeze.

"You!" Dai's eyes opened wide, and he stared wildly at Sakura.

Sasuke drew his sword and pointed it down against the man's throat. "Let her go."

"Sasuke. It's ok. He's just delirious." Sakura moved Sasuke's sword away from the man's throat.

"Just lay back now, Dai." She pushed the young man back down on the bed. Her strength and soothing tone, easily subduing him.

"Calm down man. It looks like your woman has it handled." Suigetsu said from behind Sasuke, chewing on tooth pick. "Maybe we should go outside until she's done."

"Yes. Good idea." Sakura agreed.

"We're not leaving her alone…" Sasuke began.

"I'll stay and watch." Jugo suggested.

"Sarada needs air, Sasuke." Sakura said, prying the man's hands from her wrist and then continuing to scan his body. "Jugo will be enough back up."

Sasuke finally relented and followed Suigetsu out of the door with Sarada in tow.

Sakura tied her hair back and began to work on the man. He had a significant amount of internal injuries. It was as if some one got inside of his body and punched and kicked all of his organs. She was no Hyuga or a sensory type, but through her medical ninjutsu, she could tell if someone was significantly low on chakra. And this man was running close to zero.

"Did Suigetsu say how long ago all of this happened?" Sakura asked Jugo, frowning.

"He did not say specifically… but it was at least ten days ago. That was when Sasuke got the message from Suigetsu."

"Strange." Sakura said.

"What's strange?"

"He should have recovered his chakra by now." Sakura looked into the man's pupils. They were constricting and dilating in an oscillatory manner. "It's like someone blocked his chakra points from inside his body, and then removed his chakra in a large concentration.

I can heal all the internal injuries, but he is going to be without most of his chakra for quite awhile."

When Sakura was done, she let Sasuke and Suigetsu back in the house. "He's more awake now, but still very weak."

Sasuke pulled a chair up to the Dai's bedside. "We are looking for a woman. Long blue black hair and white eyes. We believe she has a jutsu which allows her to enter the bodies of her victims and manipulate their chakra –does this sound familiar to you."

Dai's eyes open wide with fear as Sasuke said this. "S-she just appeared in front of me. She had long blue black hair and white eyes but her left eye had a black x in the middle. She wore a scratched out leaf ninja headband. Then she disappeared again, and I could feel her inside of me. I could feel her draining the life out of me! It was the ghost ninja! She was possessing me!"

The young man was screaming by this point. Sakura waved Jugo over to hold the man down as she injected him with a sedative from her bag.

"That's Hinata." Sasuke said.


	12. Chapter 12

Sarada toddled across the clearing towards her mother. The two-year old, happy to be out of her carrier, moved from her father to her mother to Jugo, eating with her hands from their bowls and screeching joyfully, "Want more!"

After she cleaned up the bowls, Sakura stooped and scooped Sarada up from her favorite game, which was to climb up Jugo and play peekaboo from the top of his head.

"Sleep time, little bug." Sakura moved away from the fire with Sarada, rocking her in her arms.

Sarada shook her head and softly said, "No sleep."

"Yes sleep." Sakura replied, leaning back against a tree and placing Sarada's head on her shoulder. She hummed a lullaby in the moonlight. It did not take long for the toddler to fall asleep with her full belly. Sakura carried Sarada back to the sleep pad, that she shared with her mother and father, and tucked her in under the covers.

Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand after she was done tucking in their daughter. He held a bundle under his other arm. He motioned to Jugo. "Watch Sarada for a bit, eh?"

Jugo nodded, chewing on the end of a twig.

Sasuke pulled Sakura out of the clearing and deeper into the woods. After awhile the woods opened up to a small lake. The water lay still and pale blue under the lit up night sky.

Putting down the extra sleeping pad, Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Come in."

Sakura followed him down to the water's edge. She took off her shoes and dipped her toes in the water. The water felt so cold, it was like icicles stabbing into her skin. Without hesitation, Sasuke stripped all the way down and wadded into the water up to his waist.

Moving a bit further in and allowing the water to cover her ankles, Sakura complained, "It's too cold."

Sasuke walked back towards her. He bent his head and kissed her on the lips before starting to undress her. Unbuttoning her long red shirt and removing her bra, he traced her jaw line with his tongue. He pushed her pants down, then he said, "Step out."

Sakura obeyed, removing her pants completely and tossing them back onto the dry bank. Sasuke grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the water with him. He seized her pink hair and pulled her head back exposing her throat to him. Teasing her throat with his tongue, he moved to the base of neck and bit into her. She moaned and clung tighter to him as the pain subsided into pleasure. They were completely submerged up to their chests now and Sakura had not noticed the coldness. Sasuke whispered in her ear. "Better?"

Sakura nodded. He left her in the water and returned to the bank, grabbing the soap and a cloth from the sleep pad. When he returned, he began to bath her. And then Sakura bathed him. When they were done, Sasuke carried Sakura out of the water, and then they made love on the sleeping pad under the moonlight.

"Sasuke, I need to talk to you about something." Sakura said cautiously. She lay her head on his chest as they both looked up at the night sky. It was clear and full of bright stars.

"What is it?" He asked, only halfway listening.

"I think Sarada and I should go back to the village." She picked up her head, resting her chin on his chest so she could see his face. "We love being with you… but our travels have been more and more dangerous lately… and Sarada is getting older –she needs to be around other children… and she needs to have a more stable life."

Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes. Tenderly, he moved her hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. "If that is what you want, you and Sarada should go back to the village. But I can't stay there with you."

Sakura nodded. She responded quietly, "I know. Just don't forget about us."

Sasuke reached up and poked Sakura on the forehead. "Never."


	13. Chapter 13

Sarada stood with Chocho on the corner outside of the academy. She whined, "my mom says my dad is coming home today."

"Wow. How long has it been? I don't even remember what your dad looks like." Chocho replied, stuffing potato chips in her mouth.

Sarada pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She shrugged. "Maybe two years. I don't keep track anymore."

"Well shouldn't you be getting home then?" Chocho mumbled with a full mouth.

Sarada rolled her eyes. "I'm avoiding home."

"So you don't want to see your dad?"

"He doesn't care about us. I don't care about him." Sarada grumbled. She looked at Chocho, knowing exactly how to get off that subject. "Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Definitely." Chocho said, eagerly. Then she stuffed more chips in her mouth.

"Let's take the short cut." Sarada said, pulling Chocho through the alley ways.

As they got halfway, a woman appeared in one of the alley ways. She had bright red hair and red eyes. She had on glasses almost identical to Sarada's glasses. The woman seemed very familiar to Sarada, but she could not quite place where she had seen her before. Spotting Sarada and Chocho, the red headed woman walked towards them.

"Hi Sarada." The woman stopped in front of the girls and stuck out her hand to shake.

Sarada frowned and looked at the woman's offered hand. "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"My name is Karin Uzumaki. I'm a friend of your father." The red headed woman replied and then she smiled down at them.

"So you came here with my dad then?" Sarada asked, suspiciously.

"Yes." Karin lied. She added gently. "But I really came to see you."

Karin looked Sarada over, from head to toe. "You look so much like your father. Even more than the last time I saw you. And you have glasses –just like me."

Chocho pulled at Sarada's sleeve, and whispered, "What's her deal?"

Karin continued. "I know you have a lot of questions –why I'm here? Who I am? I just want to sit down and talk."

"Come on Sarada." Chocho pulled at Sarada again.

"I'll catch up to you later, Cho." Absentmindedly, Sarada waved her hand at her friend.

"Sarada, I don't think…"

"Look kid. Sarada said she'll catch up to you later." Karin said sharply to Chocho. She pushed the other girl out of the way, moving between her and Sarada. "Run along now."

"You are rude!" Chocho retorted with her hands on her hips. She looked around Karin's back. "Sarada meet me in an hour at the hibachi restaurant. I'm gonna send a search party if you're not there."

"She'll be there kid." Karin snapped, before placing her arm over Sarada's shoulders and leading her away.

Karin led Sarada through the memorial gardens to the edge of the village. "I won't keep you long. I just wanted to get some time alone with you."

"Why?" Sarada asked again. "Who are you?"

"I think you know the answer to that question." Karin said softly, twirling a strand of her red hair. "Your father and I use to be very close –that is until he married Sakura."

"My mom? What about her?"

Karin sneered. "Sakura is not your real mother, Sarada."

Sarada's eyes opened wide. "Of course she is."

"No. Your father found out I was pregnant with you after he married Sakura." Karin ran her hands through her hair and then pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "It was a bit of an inconvenience for them. So after Sakura found out about you, she stole you from me and brought you here under the guise that you were her daughter. That's why Sasuke stays away. Because you aren't actually Sakura's biological child."

A wave of anguish pummeled Sarada. Was this true? She always knew there had to be a good reason why Sasuke was never around. Her mother told her that he was out there fighting some sort of demon. The explanations were always vague. But she never considered that his absence had anything to do with her. She stood up and moved away from the woman in the glasses, yelling. "That's not true!"

Karin reached her hand out to Sarada. "It IS true. I'm sorry hunny. I have proof of it –but it's back where I live."

Sarada jerked her hand away from the woman, but Karin was not deterred. She continued, "Once this sinks in, I want you to come find me. I have a friend who I want to introduce you to that can help you gain back all the things, that were taken from you, when you were taken from me… your real mother. I'll show you my proof then."

Karin stood up and then she leaned over and kissed Sarada's forehead. She handed her a piece of paper. "Come to the place on this paper… when you are ready."

Sarada watched as Karin walked away. Her head was spinning. She looked nothing like Sakura. That had never bothered her before because everyone said she looked exactly like her father. And she looked nothing like that red headed woman either. But the woman did seem very familiar, and they did both wear glasses… that was something.

* * *

Sarada walked with Chocho to her house in the old section of the village.

"Why does your mom insist on living in this creepy part of town?" Chocho whined.

Sarada ignored her. "Do you think it's a possibility?"

"What? That, that red headed magpie is your real mother? I hope not." Chocho shrugged. "Aunt Ino says that your mom was definitely pregnant at some point after your parents got married. But your mom left before she had the baby and then no one saw her or your father again until you were about two months -and even then you didn't actually live in the village with the rest of us until you were almost three years old. Anything could've happened in that time period. And that woman does wear glasses like you."

"Thanks Chocho." Sarada grumbled sarcastically. Instead of giving her an answer, Chocho had managed to create even more questions. Sarada opened the front door to her house and walked in.

"Where have you been, bug?" Sakura asked coming to the door to greet her daughter. "I told you. Your father came back today."

"Chocho and I went to eat dinner after school." Sarada explained, hugging her mother.

A tall man with black hair came out of the back of the house into the living room. Stoically, he looked Sarada over.

Chocho leaned over to Sarada and whispered, "Oh, now I remember clearly… your father is fine."

Sarada narrowed her eyes at her friend. She whispered back. "Shut it!"

Sakura looked back and forth between her expressionless daughter and her expressionless husband. "Sarada –you remember your dad."

Gently, she gave her daughter a nudge towards Sasuke. "Sasuke -you remember your daughter."

Reluctantly, Sarada moved across the room and took Sasuke's hand, shaking it. Formally, she said,"nice to meet you." Not knowing what else to say.

Sasuke grasped hold of Sarada's hand, bringing it up to his face to inspect. "You've grown –a lot."

"Your mother says you've gotten your sharingan already." He continued, his intense black eyes matched Sarada's equally intense black eyes.

She nodded in response. "After Grandpa Kizashi died, I became very sick –my sharingan awoke, but I also had to start wearing these glasses."

Sarada pointed to her face. Then she narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. "You don't know anyone else who wears glasses. Do you?"

"I knew someone a long time ago. No one who I know now." Sasuke answered, nonchalantly.

Sarada and Chocho looked at each other.

* * *

Sakura stood in the mirror brushing her hair. She had already changed into her nightgown and kissed Sarada good night. She lifted her pink hair up and clipped it, so it was off her neck. Then she went to the window and opened it outward to let in some fresh air. She stood back up and let the soft night breeze blow in on her skin.

As she took in the calm of the night, she felt a hand gently circle around her neck. His fingers caressed the bottom of her throat. She leaned back into him, into his smell –still a mix of cedar and earth, and she felt him place his mouth along the other side of her neck, sliding his tongue up to her ear lobe. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Sasuke. I missed you."

The moment halted abruptly. She opened her eyes to find herself standing in front of the mirror again. Her hair still hung down around her face to her shoulders. In the mirror, she could see Sasuke standing behind her, watching her with his sharingan.

She dropped her brush on the vanity and walked over to him. "You could have done that without putting me into a genjutsu."

Sasuke deactivated his sharingan and looked at her with black eyes. "It's been two years. I wasn't sure how you felt about me anymore."

She moved close to him so their bodies touched, and she plucked lint off the collar of his black shirt. "I accepted who you are, and what our life is, a long time ago, Sasuke. I could've stayed with you out there. But I chose to come back to the village for our daughter, knowing you were never going to live here. You've told me many times that you will always come back to me. And I know you always will. But now I'm saying to you that you don't have to worry either. I will wait for you forever."

Sasuke covered Sakura's hand with his larger hand. Then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. He said for the first time, "I love you too."


	14. Chapter 14

**This story was meant to be just a companion story, but it seems to be liked. So I have turned it into a stand alone story that is written in parts.**

 **Again it was originally a companion story to Hinata's story. I tried to make as stand alone as I could, but there may still be a few holes that are filled by that story.**

 **And warning: part two is a bit darker than part one for those who would like to forgo.**

 **Part three will follow...**

 **I own nothing. These characters are all owned by Mavashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Part Two

Sakura was worried about Sarada. She had been acting strange ever since Sasuke's return to Konoha.

Sakura already received several complaints from friends about their daughter asking odd and somewhat embarrassing questions about her parent's relationship. She was even caught with Chocho in Kakashi's office, attempting to look through classified documents about Sasuke.

She tried to talk to Sarada about her behavior, but Sarada not only looked like her father, she also acted just like him. Therefore, once she got something in her head, there was no changing it. Sakura still had not figured out what exactly had gotten into Sarada's head, but whatever it was, she was focused on it like a seasoned ninja.

"She asked Naruto if he'd ever seen the two of you kissing." Ino informed Sakura as they stood together at the nurse's station. She leaned forward and whispered, "she even asked me if you ever discussed being… _intimate_ with Sasuke."

Ino leaned back, raised an eyebrow, and continued, "Now you know, I'm all for gathering information, but this is getting strange, Forehead. You need to talk to her."

Sakura frowned at the charts in front of her. "She's always been curious about Sasuke's absences. She knows some of what happened to her father and his clan. She knows he's done some terrible things in the past, but she doesn't understand the extent of the damage. And I don't really think it's my place to tell her."

"So you're waiting for Sasuke to tell her?" Ino asked, skeptically.

Sakura sighed. "He should be the one to tell her."

"Have you told him that?" Ino asked.

Sakura planned to speak to Sasuke about having the discussion with Sarada, but she had been procrastinating. His reaction could range anywhere from agreement to adamant refusal, and then possibly, departure from the village all together.

"What about Sai? Have you heard from him?" Sakura asked, changing the subject.

During the time that Sakura left Konoha to travel with Sasuke, Ino married Sai and had their son, Inojin. Sai also became captain and was running portions of the ANBU. He was gone a lot from Konoha as well. "No. But he should be back in a few days. He wouldn't miss Naruto's Hokage ceremony."

"Sasuke came back for the ceremony too. He was gone for so long this time, maybe he'll stay in the village a bit longer." Sakura said hopefully. The two years without him had been hard. And before that he had only come back for two days after he was gone for another year and a half.

She knew she was not the only one who missed him. Sarada would never admit it out loud, but Sakura knew she missed her father terribly. So, it was not too surprising that she had started to behave so strangely after he returned.

* * *

"Do you think maybe she's interested in a boy? I mean she is almost eleven –maybe she's just just trying to find out about love." Sakura asked Sasuke. She found him on top of the Hokage Monument. The place where he hid when he was in Konoha, and he needed the solitude that he was used to while he traveled outside of the village.

She usually did not bother him there. It put him in a mood, if she pushed too far into the places that he kept to himself. But for their daughter, he would just have to get over it.

Sasuke scoffed. "Who was thinking about love at age eleven?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. He was very aware that she was in love with him at age eleven. He chose to ignore it then, just as he chose to forget about it now.

"…But, I've never understood girls or their minds. So I'm the last person to ask." Sasuke continued.

Sakura laughed and replied. "Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she is not an Uchiha… or fully your daughter. If anyone understands how that girl's mind works, it would be you."

Sasuke looked at Sakura with a half smirk on his face. Sakura smiled back. Despite his effort to hide it, she knew Sasuke was immensely proud of his daughter. He saw her as the one aspect in his life that was not marred by his past sins.

Sarada had already awoken her sharingan years before Sasuke, after her grandfather died when she was only nine. She was at the top of her class and already proficient at genjutsu and shirukenjutsu before she was even a genin. She was as focused as any Uchiha had ever been, and despite being the best in the class, she started taking private lessons under Kurenai Sarutobi. She could use genjutsu even without her sharingan like her uncle.

Sakura just hoped maybe Sasuke might finally decide to tell Sarada how proud he was of her before it was too late. "Whatever this is about, she needs to understand what it means to be an Uchiha, Sasuke… everything. And you should tell her before someone else does."

"I'll talk to her." He relented.

Sakura moved closer to her husband and kissed him on the cheek. "Today?"

"Yep." Sasuke replied, though he did not appear too happy about it.

* * *

Sarada stood beside Chocho, looking at her feet, as Shino Sensei lectured them about being kids and staying out of the adults' business. This was the second time that they had been caught sneaking around the hokage's office during their lunch break.

Chocho, who missed eating the last of her meal, looked particularly sorry, but mainly because her stomach was growling with hunger.

"What's going on, Shino?" Sasuke appeared behind Shino, eyeing his daughter and her friend.

"You called, _HIM_!" Sarada protested, looking like she wanted to stomp her foot.

"Actually I didn't." Shino retorted before he turned to his old comrade. "Hello, Sasuke. I was just reminding Sarada and Chocho that the lunch hour was better spent –actually eating lunch."

"Do you mind if I borrow Sarada for a moment?" Sasuke asked Shino. "I'll have her back for class."

Shino nodded. "Sure. There is a free period after lunch so take your time. Come on Chocho let's find your food before you pass out."

"Yes, Shino Sensei!" Chocho said eagerly. "See ya, Sarada."

"See ya." Sarada responded, glumly.

Sasuke motioned towards his daughter. "Come on. We should talk."

Sarada looked at Sasuke cautiously. What could her father possibly want to talk about? They had never had a 'talk' before. That was usually her mother's job. She could not count the number of 'talks' that she had endured from Sakura. Most of them were highly embarrassing, and moments that she wanted to quickly forget. Like the last one... after she bought her first training bra.

She followed Sasuke outside into a quiet area of the park. He sat down on a bench and waited for her to sit down next to him.

"I heard that you've been asking a lot of questions… about me and your mother." Sasuke said.

Sarada frowned. Then defensively, she replied, "So? You're never around, and Mom never wants to talk about it. I always have to ask other people to know about my own parents."

"Your mother is just trying to protect you." Sasuke responded. "I've done many things… our family has done many things against this village. Things that countless in the village still haven't forgiven."

"If you're talking about my grandfather's attempt to betray the village, and my uncle… your brother's betrayal and massacre of our clan in exchange for your safety. Followed by your need for vengeance, which turned you into an international criminal and almost ended up killing both you and Uncle Naruto… I already know all of that."

Sarada rolled her eyes. How her parents figured she made it to age eleven, without some one spilling those beans was beyond her.

She endured merciless teasing when she first moved back to Konoha with Sakura. She hid it well from her mother, but she was lonely and she had no friends. She spent all of her time training and reading and bettering herself. Focused on becoming hokage one day, she was determined to show the entire village that just because her last name Uchiha, she was not the same as her father, or his brother, or any of the rest of her clan.

After she started school and everyone realized how talented she was, the kids stopped teasing her and just avoided her. No one would sit near her in the classroom or at lunch because they thought she might murder them. And after she awakened her sharingan a year ago, she was given an even wider berth.

Chocho had been her first and only friend for a long time now. First of all, because no one ever dared to tease Chocho, unless they wanted their face rearranged, and second of all, because Chocho was an avid nonconformist. So as soon as she saw Sarada was shunned and alone, she planned to defy everyone else and befriend her.

Sasuke frowned at Sarada now, confused. "Well that about summarizes it... So... if that's not what the questions are about…"

He paused, a nauseous look spreading across his face. "Are you- are you interested in a boy?"

Sarada's mouth dropped open. She stared at her father like he had just lost his mind for a second. Then she turned and folded her arms over her chest. "This is NOT about a boy!"

Sasuke sighed, relieved. But his relief was premature because then Sarada asked her question. "Have you ever been in love with another woman?"

Now Sasuke's mouth dropped open. "What?!"

"I mean, you did travel with a group once, right? Taka? There was a woman, who was part of that group… you must have spent a lot of time with her." She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke.

In her and Chocho's sleuthing, Sarada found the only picture that Sakura kept of Sasuke in the house. The picture was folded over and included three other people, one being the loud mouthed red headed woman, who had approached her a few weeks ago.

That was the first clue that maybe the woman was telling the truth. Then they found some folders in the sixth's office that contained old intel on a group called Taka, which was led by Sasuke Uchiha and had included three others, Jugo and Suigetsu, and Karin Uzumaki.

"Who Karin?" Sasuke asked, incredulously. "She was just a coworker. I married your mother for a reason. She's the only woman, I've ever loved."

Sarada sighed. Maybe her father did love Sakura. But did that prove that Karin was not her biological mother?

* * *

 _A six year old Sarada stood facing a semicircle of six angry kids._

 _"You Uchiha! You traitor!" They yelled at her, viciously._

 _"I'm not! I'm just a kid!" Sarada yelled back, her face turning red. She wished her mom did not make her wear this stupid symbol on her back. It made her a walking bullseye for every villager, who hated her family... and there were many._

 _"My dad said that your father is a criminal and a murderer, and that's why he hardly ever shows his face in this village!" The tallest boy in the front yelled accusingly. "And we, good citizens, don't want trash like you in our village, either!"_

 _He picked up a clump of mud from the ground and threw it at her. It splattered across the side of her face. Some it getting into her mouth._

 _"Ha! Ha!" The kids laughed and pointed, as Sarada tried to wipe the mud off of her face, starting to cry._

 _"Freak! Murderer! Criminal!" The kids started to push at her, jostling her around as she cried harder._

 _Abruptly they all stopped, backing up a bit. Sarada looked at them, surprised. They were all looking at her with wide eyes and fear. She frowned and started to look around her. What had happened?_

 _A very large girl with brown skin and long burnt orange hair was standing behind her staring daggers at her tormentors. The girl was pounding her right fist into her left palm threateningly. She growled. "You better leave her alone before I pound all six of you into dust."_

 _"Chocho, we were.. just... she is... an Uchiha." The tall boy stuttered._

 _"I DON'T CARE! Scatter before you eat dirt!" The large girl yelled, taking a step forward._

 _The kids ran off. Sarada watched them go. She turned to the girl shyly and said, "Thank you."_

 _"Not a problem. I'm Chocho." The girl stuck out her hand for Sarada to shake._

* * *

Sakura was certain that it would help if Sasuke spent more time with Sarada.

Sarada was almost as unreadable as her father, but Sakura had noticed the subtle undertone of hostility that Sarada had whenever Sasuke came up in conversation. And the fact that she started acting funny right after he came back into town suggested that this had to do with her relationship with her father. Or lack there of.

Sakura's mother was not helping matters. Mebuki did not even attempt to keep her opinions about Sasuke and his absences to herself around Sarada, despite Sakura's many threats to cut off the relationship if she was not more tactful.

A few days later, Sakura managed to drag Sasuke across town to visit her mother for their usual family dinner.

She expected him to adamantly refuse, but after two years of hardly any word from him, this return seemed different than the others. Not only did he finally tell her that he loved her, but he made a true effort to spend time with both her and Sarada.

He still disappeared to his hiding spots, but he would return quickly, and he was not even upset when Sakura invaded his space to discuss her worries about Sarada.

Mebuki saw her daughter and granddaughter opening their hearts to Sasuke again. And like a mother bear, who was protecting her cubs from a full grown mountain lion, she was ready to maul her son-in-law.

"So you're back, eh?" That was the greeting that they received when she opened the door to her daughter, granddaughter, and son-in-law. "For how long this time?"

Sakura scowled at her mother. "We can leave, or you can be nice. Your choice, Mother."

Mebuki smiled a fake and compliant smile, and then stepped back, letting her family in the house. Then she grabbed Sarada's hand. "Come, Bug! I have a special treat for you."

"Mother… she doesn't need any junk…" Sakura called after them as Mebuki dragged her granddaughter into the kitchen.

"Nonsense!" Mebuki yelled over her shoulder. "My granddaughter is a skilled and hardworking shinobi, who deserves to be spoiled by her grandmother! Look at how well she is turning out –despite who her father is."

"Mother!" Sakura snapped. She was infuriated. But, apparently she was the only one. Sasuke was ignoring Mebuki, looking around the living room at the pictures, which were almost entirely of Sarada.

The only person, who might have been more proud of Sarada than her parents, was her grandmother, who had pummeled her sewing circle with so many boasts about her prodigious granddaughter that they stopped inviting her.

Mebuki even had Sarada's first lost tooth encased in a small framed box on the mantel piece.

"Dinner!" Mebuki called as she and Sarada returned from the kitchen. Sarada had a half eaten bar of chocolate in one hand.

Sakura rolled her eyes and slipped her arm through Sasuke's arm, leading him to the dinner table. She cringed as she sat down next to him.

The last time Sasuke and Mebuki sat across the table from each other, Sasuke ended up putting his mother-in-law in a genjutsu just to shut her up. Now that her father was no longer around to play mediator, Sakura did not have high hopes for this dinner, either.

"So?" Mebuki said to Sasuke, as she took her seat. "Where have you been for the last two years… and what brings you back?"

Sakura kicked her mother lightly under the table. "You know Sasuke can't talk about that."

"Oh well." Mebuki sighed. "I get it. He has an important job –but he might want to consider he has a family too. You're a grown woman dear, but Sarada is still a child. He comes back here, acts like a father for a few days, gets Sarada's hopes up, and then leaves only to disappoint her again."

Sarada looked intently back and forth between the grown ups at the table.

"Sarada understands that her father is out there to protect the village…" Sakura started.

"I don't think so, dear." Mebuki replied, snarkily.

"Don't worry. I plan to stay longer this time." Sasuke said, his voice even and unemotional. He said this to Mebuki, but he was looking at his daughter.

"Well, I hope so." Mebuki said. "I'm really just concerned about what is best for my granddaughter."

* * *

Sakura slammed the door shut, as she walked back into their house behind Sarada and Sasuke. She looked at Sarada and said, "Bug. Why don't you get ready for bed, huh? School tomorrow."

"Ok, Mom." Sarada said and walked off to her bedroom.

Sasuke followed Sakura as she stomped into their bedroom. When they were alone in the room, she complained, "I can't believe my mother! I told her how Sarada has been acting and all the strange questions that she's been asking… yet Mebuki still had to go there!"

Sasuke shrugged and sat down on their bed. "Sarada seems ok. And everyone is use to your mother."

"She shouldn't have taken all those digs at you. And definitely not in front of our daughter!" Sakura yelled at no one in particular.

Sasuke moved across the room and wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist, pulling her towards him and kissing her on the forehead. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips. "I don't care what your mother thinks. As long as I have you and our daughter, everyone else can go to hell."

He moved his hand to her face, stroking her cheek and jaw line, kissing her again. His hands moved down her arm as his kissed her. He gripped the small of her back and pulled her body harder against his body. She opened her mouth to accept his tongue. He tasted her mouth, her tongue, her lips. Then he pulled back slightly.

"Tell me that I have you." Sasuke whispered, his black eyes large and lustful.

Sakura placed her hands on the sides of Sasuke's face, rubbing her nose against his nose. "You have us… always."

Sasuke released her and took her hand, leading her to the bathroom. He filled their tub and undressed. As he stepped into the hot water, Sakura moved to take up the cloth to bath him, but he held onto her hand so she could not reach it. He pulled her back to him as he stood in the tub, unbuttoning her dress and pushing it off of her shoulders so it fell to the ground. "Remove your panties."

Sakura obeyed Sasuke and shimmied out of her pink lace panties, stepping out of them. Sasuke removed her matching bra and sat down in the tub, pulling her in with him, so she was seated on his lap.

He gently bathed her and himself, kissing her neck and her back until he felt the tension and anger relax out of her muscles.

Then he gripped her breasts from behind, his lips brushing softly against her ear, his tongue tracing a line down to her neck. She felt a moan escape her lips before she could stop herself. He responded by rubbing her nipples with slightly more friction. She leaned her head back, arching her breasts further into his hands as his mouth found her collar bone and the base of her neck.

His hands wandered down further, across her flat abdomen and in between her thighs. He rubbed her most sensitive spot, made even more sensitive in the warm water. She felt herself reflexively respond to his hand. He pushed his fingers into her as he continued to tease her clitoris.

In between the waves of pleasure that his fingers were sending through her body, she had a distant thought that she should be pleasuring him too. But his fingers would not relent enough to allow her an entire coherent a thought. And damn, he felt so good. Sakura was addicted to her husband, and like any addict, no matter how long she went without him, she never stopped feening for him.

As his hand brought her to orgasm, she moaned, "Sasuke."

He whispered into her ear. "Tell me again that I have you."

He moved his fingers just slightly so her body shuddered with another orgasm, and she moaned, "Oooh... you have me. It's all yours."

Sasuke stood up out of the water, picking Sakura up bridal style and carrying her to their bed. Both their bodies were wet and slick with the bathwater. He lay her on the bed and climbed on top of her, entering her before she even had a chance to collect her thoughts. She clung to him as he moved inside of her. Their bodies passionately intertwined together.

Finally gaining her bearings, she rolled over top of him and began to ride him, looking into his black eyes. She could tell from his face that he was beginning to orgasm, but was attempting to hold back in order to ensure she had another peak too. He moved his hands to her hips placing pressure right at the top of her buttucks. She felt her pelvic muscles start to shudder and she arched back, moaning with her coming orgasm. Sasuke allowed himself to release at the same time, both of them groaning with pleasure.

* * *

Two days later, Sarada stuck her head all the way out of her bedroom door, as she heard her father come into the house. He was not alone. She almost fell out of her doorway face first, as she inspected the blonde boy and the dark haired girl, who stood with Sasuke in their living room.

They were strangers. She had never seen them in the village before.

"Sarada!" Sakura called.

Sarada straightened her red dress and ascot, adjusting her glasses on her face. Then, she walked out into the front room to stand next her mother.

"This is Boruto and Himawari… they are going to be staying with us for awhile." Sakura motioned to the kids, who stood on either side of Sasuke. "They are… your Uncle Naruto's children."

"And this is our daughter, Sarada Uchiha." Sakura said, smiling kindly at the twins.

Sarada's eyes opened wide. Naruto has children? When did that happen? And they appeared to be the same age as her. "Nice to meet you."

Sarada stuck her hand out to them. The boy's blue eyes brightened, and he shook her hand enthusiastically. The girl was a bit more cautious. She had large white eyes, which seemed to pierce right through you. Sarada had read about the byakugan in books before, but she had never actually seen anyone with the dojutsu in person. Most of the Hyugas were gone from Konoha by the time Sarada was old enough to notice.

Immediately, she took Himawari's hand and pulled her out of the front room, calling over her shoulder to Sakura. "I'm going to show Himawari my room!"

Boruto took a step forward to follow, enthralled by the pretty girl with the raven hair. But Sasuke promptly placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, stopping him.

After Sarada shut the door behind her and Himawari, she sat down on the bed and started grilling her guest. "So if you're Uncle Naruto's daughter, where have you been all this time?"

"With my mother." Himawari stated quietly, looking around the room. "We lived in the Land of Lightning with Lady Tsunade for a long time, but we've been traveling with my mother for the last year. That is… until my stupid brother ran away and came here to find our long lost father."

Sarada knew that Naruto was married once to Hinata Hyuga, but she disappeared years ago, before Sarada was born. Her father and Naruto searched for Hinata for years without any success. Apparently, she finally returned to Konoha, and she brought two children with her.

"It wasn't a pretty reunion." Himawari continued. "And it's all Boruto's fault. If he would've just, listened… Our mother was going to bring us back here eventually. But _OH NO_! He just had to follow your father here and create this mess. I think my mother might be locked up now."

Himawari sat down on the bed next to Sarada and started to sob.

"My father is a rogue ninja too." Sarada offered. She place a hand on the crying girl's shoulder. "Uncle Naruto was the reason why they let him go and accepted him back in the village. Everyone knows he loved your mother. I'm sure he will do the same for her. He is supposed to become hokage tomorrow, you know?"

Himawari did not respond. She just wiped her face, and crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Sarada inspected Himawari's white eyes again. "Your mother was Hyuga. Do you have the byakugan?"

Himawari nodded, smiling slightly for the first time.

Now she looked at Sarada curiously. "And you are an Uchiha, huh? Do you have the sharingan?"

Sarada smiled back and nodded. "We should be friends."


	15. Chapter 15

"Where have you been!?" Sakura demanded, hugging her daughter until Sarada was almost certain she was going to suffocate.

"I was with Himawari and Chocho." Sarada said, quickly.

"Really?" Sakura could feel herself about to lose her temper. "Because I have talked to Boruto and Chocho, and all of your Uncles and Aunts, multiple times over the last two days. None of them have seen you. Of course, Himawari tried to cover for you, but you didn't exactly leave her much to work with!"

Sarada tried to walk away from her mother towards her room, but Sakura grabbed her arm. "Where were you, Sarada?"

Sarada yanked her arm from her mother's grip. She scowled. "If you must know, I went after Sasuke."

"Your father?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking. "Why?"

"He left without saying good bye! AGAIN!" Sarada yelled at her mother. "And he is NOT my father! So quit calling him that!"

Sarada slammed the door in Sakura'a face.

Sakura stood there in shock for a second. Sarada never reacted like this to Sasuke's leaving. What had happened this time? She opened the door.

"Bug. He just left for a short time." Sakura said in her most soothing voice. She went to the edge of the bed and sat down, lightly stroking Sarada's black hair. "He'll be back in a few days."

"Why? So he can spend all his time with Boruto and ignore me again." Sarada buried her head deeper in her pillow.

It had been a year since the return of Hinata and the Uzumaki children to Konoha, and Sarada's behavior was becoming worse despite the fact that Sasuke was around more.

Sarada and Himawari were now the best of friends and almost attached at the hips, but at the same time, she seemed envious and almost angry over Himawari's growing relationship with her own father. She was even more frustrated with Sasuke's decision to overlook her and to take Boruto as his student.

When Naruto passed on his summoning scroll to Himawari after they graduated from the academy as a gesture of how proud he was of his daughter, Sarada came home, locked herself in her bedroom, and refused to come out.

The next day, Sakura offered to take Sarada to the hospital with her to pass on some of her medical ninjutsu, but Sarada promptly turned her down. Scowling, she said, haughtily, "I'm an Uchiha. There is only one person who can teach me, and he could care less."

Sakura's feelings were hurt in that moment, but in the back of her mind, she knew that Sarada was right. She had to talk to Sasuke again. As a child, Sasuke was left without any guidance from his clan and that had not turned out well. But Sarada had Sasuke, and he needed to step up for her now.

* * *

A few days later, Sasuke came back to Konoha, but he stayed distracted. Sarada became even more distant, and Sakura still had not figured out where she disappeared to for two days.

"You need to talk to her again, Sasuke. Spend time with her. Maybe take her to the training field with you." Sakura said to her husband as he put on his coat to meet Boruto at the training fields again. "You're so completely obsessed with saving Naruto's son, your neglecting your own daughter."

After Sasuke discovered that Boruto had inherited a dojutsu from his mother, which may have originally been created by Orochimaru, he took an interest in the boy. It was clear that Orochimaru wanted something from Boruto, and Sasuke was convinced the sannin wanted to train him and eventually take his body like he once planned for Sasuke.

Sasuke paused and looked at Sakura. "If Orochimaru is lurking around, this IS about our daughter. Who do you think he will come after next?"

"She left the village… for two days, by herself." Sakura stated, abruptly. She had not planned to tell Sasuke that Sarada ran away to look for him. She knew that could be enough to send him over the edge. But she was starting to feel like she was nagging a brick wall. "She says she went to look for you."

Sasuke turned back around. A dark mixture of fear and rage crossed his face. He said in a low and dangerous voice. "What kind of mother just let's her eleven year old daughter leave the village alone for two days?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, meeting his gaze with equal intensity. "Really?! What kind of mother? How dare you question my parenting after you've barely made anytime to get to know your own daughter. You're not a father. You're a stranger who shows up whenever it suites you! Her behavior is all your fault –but you won't do anything about it. You have no right to EVER question me."

The emotion disappeared from Sasuke's face, and he just became cold. The protective wall coming up over his hard black eyes. "You know why I can't live in the village. And why Sarada should not be following me alone."

"Sasuke… I didn't mean…" Sakura started, regaining control of her temper. "I just lost my temper…"

"No. You're right. I haven't been a parent." He interrupted her, coolly. Then he turned and walked out the front door saying, "You need to keep a closer eye on _your_ daughter."

Sakura clinched her fists together and punched straight through the wall next to her. Then she ran out of the front door after him. But he was already gone.

* * *

Sarada folded down her collar and examined the base of her neck in the mirror of her dressing table. There were two black marks there now. She smiled to herself appreciatively.

If her father was not going to teach her, who better to show her the extent of her power than the man who taught him.

Everyone was so busy worrying about Boruto, and Orochimaru's interest in him, that no one would ever suspect that she had became the sannin's newest student. Not even Sasuke.

She originally ran away from Konoha and went to Orochimaru's hideout to find Karin. She still was not certain if Karin was her mother, but she also did not believe that she was just Sasuke's coworker. She wanted to know if Karin was the reason why her father was absent so much.

She did not find any sign of Sasuke there, but Karin did convince her that Sakura was not her birth mother, showing Sarada the umbilical cord that she saved and a picture of Sarada right after birth.

Then Karin introduced her to her boss. Sarada's first impression of Orochimaru was that he was creepy, sinister, and had very little concept of personal space. But he was much more interested in her and her talents than her father had ever been.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Orochimaru smiled maliciously. "Sasuke Uchiha's offspring wants me to teach her, eh?"

Sarada looked nervously back at Karin, who gave her a quick half smile.

Orochimaru moved closer to Sarada, and with his hands, he inspected her face and then her eyes and inside of her mouth. "You are young and healthy. The perfect vessel. But… if you want me to help you, I will need something in return."

"W-what?" Sarada stammered. She tried to step back, away from the sannin. Maybe this was a mistake. She just wanted to go home and hug her mother, and then hang out with Chocho and Himawari like always.

Orochimaru grabbed hold of her tighter, so she could not move away. He leaned in close and hissed like a snake. "I need you to help me lure Boruto Uzumaki here. He has something that belongs to me. And then all of the power you have ever wanted will be yours. Enough to surpass your father and even the current Hokage. Make them acknowledge you, Sarada. Make all those assholes in Konoha, who have made your life a living nightmare, _pay_."

Sarada opened her mouth to scream, but it was stifled by the pain of Orochimaru biting into her neck.

* * *

Sarada stood in shadows and watched as Mitsuki walked off with Boruto towards his apartment. The plan was going smoothly. Sasuke was gone from Konoha, and Orochimaru promised a large distraction to keep Naruto and the rest of the village from noticing as Orochimmaru's son, Mitsuki, kidnapped Boruto from the village.

Himawari was the one person, who could potentially get in the way. She was suspicious of Mitsuki, and she watched over her twin like a hawk. Sarada needed to make sure Himawari did not spoil things, or get in Orochimaru's way. Despite her sudden and insatiable hunger for the power that Orochimaru promised her, she still did not want to see any of her friends or her family get hurt.

She slipped away from the training fields and crossed the village. She needed to get to the Uzumaki house before the attack came.

As she made her way from the training fields back towards the center of the village, she heard the sound of urgent feet behind her. She turned to find Chocho, with a very determined look on her face, running towards her.

"Sarada! Don't you run away from me again!" Chocho yelled, as she made her way across the street.

Great. Chocho found her. Sarada had been trying to avoid being alone with Chocho ever since she left the village for Orochimaru's hideout several weeks ago. Chocho was the only one, who knew about her meeting with Karin or Sarada's questions about her parentage. She was the only one who might figure out Sarada's connection to Orochimaru.

Of course, Chocho was pissed because Sarada had been avoiding her. She told Himawari that she planned to throttle the Uchiha if she ever got close enough to her. Sarada had already placed Chocho in a genjutsu twice to avoid getting entangled in her very large and powerful grip.

Himawari's suspicions about Mitsuki were rubbing off on Chocho, and she was certain he was the reason that Sarada was avoiding her.

"SARADA UCHIHA! YOU BETTER STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!" Chocho started to run faster, as Sarada turned and took off herself.

Sarada called back over her shoulder. "Chocho, just leave me alone!"

"I WILL NOT!" Chocho raged as she charged after her friend.

Sarada looked back at Chocho again as she turned and ducked down another alley. Then she ran right smack into her mother.

"Sarada!" Sakura gasped as her daughter ran into her. "What are you doing?"

"Shh!" Sarada put her finger to her mouth. She whispered up to Sakura. "Chocho is after me."

"What?" Sakura asked, confused.

Sarada pulled Sakura down and behind a dumpster. "I'm trying to avoid Chocho, and she almost caught up to me."

Sakura felt Sarada's forehead, looking concerned. "Why are you trying to avoid your friends, now?"

"She's just been pestering me about that kid, Mitsuki." That was half true at least. "I was on my way to see Himawari."

"Ok." Sakura replied suspiciously. "Don't stay…"

Just then the sound of a loud explosion shook the ground and the buildings. Sarada and Sakura looked at each other. This was the distraction, and Sarada had not found Himawari yet. She had to figure out how to get away from her mother.

Sakura gave Sarada the out that she needed.

Her mother dragged her out of the alley way to find a crowd of villagers running away from the front of the village. They made their way through the panicked crowd until they found Shikamaru attempting to direct people away from the chaos. Sakura pulled Sarada towards him.

"What is going on?!" She called to him.

"Some sort of wormhole opened up in the front of the village… we're being invaded by bandits and a horde of creatures!" He called back. "Naruto is fighting the creatures, and Sai and the ANBU are trying to take out the bandits!"

Orochimaru must have sent the bandit lord Gokurukon, his gang of bandits, and the hundreds of creatures, that he controlled, to create the distraction. Sarada could see Kurama's chakra form standing above the village, tossing Gokurukon's monsters and slamming his fists into the flying mutated bats that attempted to swarm his head. The battle was almost as loud as the original explosion.

"I should get to the hospital and organize the medical team." Sakura said to Shikamaru.

"I can help with evacuating the villagers." Sarada volunteered.

Shikamaru nodded. "Good. We need all the help we can get."

Sakura had a bad feeling about letting Sarada go off on her own. She had felt unsettled ever since Sarada left the village on her own. But Sarada was a ninja now, so Sakura needed to trust in her judgment and abilities. She turned to her daughter. "Sarada, after everything settles, go straight home! DO NOT STOP. We will meet there. Ok?"

Sarada nodded and hugged her mother, sadly. She knew she was not going to be there to meet her. Even if Sakura was not her real mother, she still raised her and had been there for her more than anyone else.

Sarada turned and moved away through the jostling crowd. Naruto was definitely distracted, and Sarada was almost certain that Hinata went after her old boss, Gokurukon. Hinata was the only one who knew how to defeat him after all. That meant that Mitsuki had an opening to get Boruto out of the village without being stopped. She just needed to do her part and find Himawari.

* * *

Sakura felt extremely nauseous as she made her way across the village to the hospital. She hated having to send Sarada off by herself. And she wished Sasuke was back for more reasons than just one.

They had not spoken to each other since the fight about Sarada leaving the village. After that, he only came back to the house to take some of his things, and then he left the village again. Sakura had cried that entire night. And then, when she woke up the next morning and started bawling again, she knew something was off.

She tried to ignore it. There was too much going on with her detached daughter and her angry husband, to consider anything... or anyone else.

But after she started having terrible morning sickness, she realized she needed to go to the clinic. She had not felt this bad since she was pregnant with Sarada.

In the last year, Sasuke had been in Konoha more than he had been their entire marriage. The last time that they spent this much time together was before she and Sarada came back to live in Konoha. Sakura had gotten pregnant then too. She lost the child, however. And Sasuke told her that having Sarada was a miracle, and it was unlikely that they would have any other children.

Since she was not an Uchiha and did not carry the kekkei genkai, she would have trouble carrying his children to full term… unless the child happened to inherited most of her genes and did not carry the bloodline. But since the sharingan was dominant, that would also be rare.

When she got to the clinic, she found out she was more than three months along. It was about the same time period that she lost the last child. She did not have much hope for this pregnancy. The thought of losing another child in the midst of fighting with her already absent husband and clinging to her daughter, who seemed to be slipping further away everyday, was more than Sakura thought she could handle.

She was walking back from the clinic when she ran into Sarada and the explosion sent the village into a tail spin. Now she made her way to the hospital, which was already starting to be over run by injured villagers.

"Sakura! I'm so glad you're here!" Ino yelled, as she spotted Sakura rolling up her sleeves to work on a ninja whose legs were crushed by some falling rumble. Ino shoved another stack of charts at her. "It's been a mess."

Sakura nodded her head. "It's only going to get worse."

"So? What happened at the clinic?" Ino asked, suspiciously.

Sakura nodded, gravely. "It was positive. I'm pregnant."

"Ok." Ino replied. "Are we happy?"

Sakura looked up from her work. Her eyes glistened with tears. "Let's just get back to work. I'll let you know in a few months... if I'm still pregnant."

Ino nodded, understandingly, and set back to work on her next patient.

* * *

"Sarada is missing!" Sakura found Naruto preparing to the leave the village with a search team. Gokurukon had kidnapped Hinata and now Himawari and Boruto were missing as well.

"She's with Himawari and Boruto. I sensed them all leave the village while the battle was going on." Naruto replied. "I'm taking a team to track them down. Sai, Choji and Shino are forming another search team."

Sakura looked worried. This was the second time that Sarada just up and left the village. And this time, it was definitely not to go after her father.

Naruto placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Come with us. We need medical back up and this is as much your search as it is mine."

Sakura nodded. "I'll leave Ino in charge of the medical team here."

Sasuke was right. She should have kept a closer eye on Sarada. She knew she was acting distant and angry, and pushing her friends away. She should not have let her go off on her own after the explosion. She should have insisted that she come to the hospital. If they lost Sarada, it would be all her fault.

But it was not until the team ran into a ninja mouse name Yuka, who carried a message from Hinata, that she realized the full extent of the trouble that Sarada had gotten herself into.

"Lady Hinata says that she is ok. Gokurukon took her to Orochimaru's western hideout and locked her in a cell. She found Himawari and Sarada there as well. Mitsuki kidnapped Boruto and they were attempting to recover him when they got caught." The mouse squeaked. "But Orochimaru has left the hide out and he has Boruto. She says to go after them."

"What was Sarada thinking?!" Sakura demanded, alarmed after Yuka finished the message. "I told her to go straight home. How did she end up in Orochimaru's hideout with Himawari?"

Naruto looked at Sakura gravely. "I don't know. I guess like Hinata said, they were trying to rescue Boruto."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure that's what it is."

But they were both thinking the same thing… about the last time an Uchiha went to one of Orochimaru's hideouts. Naruto placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder reassuringly and then moved off to the spot where Hanabi and Konohamaru sat.

Sakura felt helpless. Like she did during all those years that they chased after Sasuke. She wanted to believe that Sarada was just rescuing Boruto, but in the back of her mind she remembered Sarada had already left the village once before. She remembered Sarada's anger over Sasuke taking Boruto as his student instead of her. And her incessant questions about her parents' relationship to each other.

For the last couple of weeks, Sarada's moods had become more and more erratic. She could be her usual calm and logical self, and then in the next second, she would fly into rage over the smallest thing. She was treating her friends terribly. Sakura had even caught her putting Chocho in a genjutsu in an attempt to get rid of her. It reminded her of Sasuke after Orochimaru put his curse mark on him and lured him away from the village.

Numbly, she followed the group further into woods. She was feeling exhausted and nauseous, but she could not stop and she could not tell anyone about her condition because they would surely make her go back. She was determined not to go back until she had her daughter.

After awhile, Hanabi said "I see something ahead."

She examined the forest with her byakugan.

Naruto stopped the group again. "Is it Boruto?"

"No it's another boy. Don't think I've seen him before." Hanabi said, looking over at Konohamaru.

"Are you sure?" Konohamaru asked Hanabi. "Is he alone?"

"Yes. He is seated on a log… like he's waiting for us. He has a massive amount of chakra around him –its strange… not like most people's."

"Konohamaru stay here with Hanabi." Naruto instructed. "Kiba, Sakura, and I will go look."

The smaller group broke off and went ahead. They came upon a white haired boy sitting cross legged with his eyes closed.

"Mitsuki?!" Naruto recognized the boy from the latest genin class. He was on team 7 with Boruto and Sarada.

The kid did not react at first. He continued to sit in meditation as if no one had approached him. Naruto and Sakura exchanged looks.

"Where is Boruto?" Naruto asked, moving closer to the boy seated on the log.

Black marks started to move up the side of Mitsuki's face. Naruto recognized those marks. They were curse marks. A thick blue light emanated from the kid, surrounding him the way Kurama's chakra surrounded Naruto. His entire face flattened and his canines elongated into fangs. The blue chakra formed into two large snakes which wrapped around Mitsuki lifting him up off the logs.

A large crash sounded deeper in the forest. They could see the head of a large purple snake poke out of the top of the trees. It was facing an enormous rat wielding a katana and Choji, who looked about fifty feet tall.

Mitsuki's blue snakes snapped out from him, attempting to grab Sakura, Kiba, and Akumaru. Naruto activated tail beast mode. Kurama's large yellow chakra hands extended from Naruto and grabbed the snakes around their necks throttling them. He yelled, "GO AFTER BORUTO! I'VE GOT HIM!"

Sakura dodged the blows meant for her and ran out of range. She bit her thumb summoning Katsuyu. Grabbing hold of the slug, she held on tight as Katsuyu maneuvered through the woods towards the sound of the crash.

"Ms. Sakura! Congratulations!" Kaytsuyu greeted her jovially.

"Ummm… Thank you Katsuyu." Sakura replied. She forgot that the slug could sense these things.

"I wish I could congratulate you under better circumstances, Misses."

"Me too."

Gamagoro quickly passed Sakura and Katsuyu with his long jumps.

As the toad leapt into the clearing, Manta hissed angrily. "I see Gamabunta is sending amateurs to do his dirty work for him now."

Gamagoro charged into Manta, his weapons at ready, bashing the snake on the back of the head and causing the snake to lurch forward.

Sakura and Katsuyu finally reached the fight, spitting acid into the snake's face as he attempted to recover.

"That's what this amateur has to say about that!" Gamagoro yelled at Manta.

The large summoning rat, Nezumi, managed to sever the end of Manta's tail, but not before he had broken several of her ribs. She had blood coming out her mouth now. Hinata patted the ninja rat on her nozzle and said, "Go heal yourself. You've done enough."

The snake was close to defeat, and Orochimaru had already disappeared with Boruto.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as she spotted Sarada with Hinata and Himawari on the rat's head. But her relief was short lived, because vindictively, Manta turned his head and swiped Himawari and Sarada off the top of Nezumi's head with his long tongue. Hinata shouted "NO!", as she saw the girls get dragged into the snake's mouth. She followed, just before the snake's mouth snapped shut.

"Katsuyu!" Sakura shouted down at the slug.

Katsuyu spat another load of acid at the snake, attempting to completely incompacitate him before he swallowed the occupants in his mouth.

Then Naruto and Karuma appeared from the woods, a large biju bomb already forming from Kurama's mouth. He launched it at the summoning snake, hitting Manta right at the base of his head and knocking him over onto the ground. Dead.

The impact of the hit shook Manta's mouth, forcing it open. Hinata, Himawari, and Sarada slid back out of Manta's mouth onto the ground with the rest of the snake's secretions.

Kurama was stood on top of the snake. A huge black mortal wound set deep in the snake's body.

"Naruto!" Hinata called. But before she could fully gain her bearings, another large white snake swallowed her and Sarada, slithering off into the woods.

Now Sakura shouted, "NO!"

* * *

There were about twenty white snakes, who appeared at the same time as the one, who swallowed Hinata and Sarada. Naruto and Kurama managed to capture half of them. Ripping them open and releasing the belly contents. None contained Hinata or Sarada.

Sakura was standing in shock over the place, where she last saw her daughter. And Himawari kneeled next to her, watching her father search the dead snakes. "Why did he take Sarada?"

Sakura had already asked this question a million times over while the search party traveled from Konoha, and she had a horrible feeling that she knew the answer.

"We're back to tracking again!" Naruto yelled at Shino, Kiba, and Konohamaru. He looked over at Sakura and Himawari. "Maybe you two should go back…"

"NO!" They both yelled in unison.

"I'm not returning to the village without my daughter." Sakura said forcefully. Then she continued more diplomatically. "I need to see this mission through, Lord Hokage."

"So do I." Himawari agreed. She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's my mother and my brother and my best friend out there."

"Ok." Naruto said, not wanting to waste time arguing. He waved at Kiba. "Bring the kid out."

Kiba went back into the brush, and then came out dragging Mitsuki, who was tied up and gagged again.

Naruto removed the gag from Mitsuki's mouth. "Where is Orochimaru taking them?!"

Mitsuki looked at Naruto expressionless. "My Lord father will go back to his laboratory."

"Are you telling us the truth!?" Naruto demanded.

"My Lord father did not tell me to lie, Lord hokage." Mitsuki said, calmly. "And he keeps all of his most prized possessions in his laboratory."

"Where is this laboratory?" Konohamaru asked.

"Demon island, Konohamaru Sensei."

"Alright." Naruto stood up with his arms crossed and spoke to the group. "Our travel party needs to be smaller. Konohamaru, you'll take Hanabi and Kiba and track down Sasuke. His last message said he was on his way back to village -hopefully he is close. Tell him what happened here and where we are headed. Choji and Shino head back to the village with Mitsuki to give Shikamaru an update... and to make sure the kid does not cause any more trouble. Himawari, Sakura, and Sai, you are with me. We head to demon island."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.


	16. Chapter 16

Sasuke urgently made his way back from the Land of Ice. He had to find Sarada before it was too late.

He left Konoha with the intention of finding out what exactly Orochimaru had planned for Boruto. But what he found was something from his worst nightmare.

He discovered many things at Orochimaru's hideout in the Land of Ice, but the most disturbing thing that he discovered was that Karin had fed Sarada a lie about her being Sarada's birth mother. And when she delivered Sarada, she somehow got her hands on the umbilical cord, and secretly took a picture. She was using it as proof of their kinship.

Sarada had spent the last year believing that Sakura kidnapped her and that Sasuke rejected her because she was not Sakura's biological daughter.

It all made sense now. Sarada's behavior. The questions and the snooping around.

And now his daughter had gone to his ex-mentor and made a deal with the devil, because he had not taken the time to teach her, himself.

He had to get to Sarada before it was too late.

* * *

Sarada flinched as Orochimaru removed the bandage from her left eye. The pain of the transplant was near unbearable. But it was not the actual eye that hurt. She felt like her mind was being stretched, and her thoughts were no longer just her own.

Orochimaru watched her hungrily. "You feel different don't you? Like your entire being has expanded? It's the kotoamatsukami. You must be able to sense another's thoughts in order to manipulate them."

Sarada nodded, squirming uncomfortably.

"Don't worry. You will soon come to enjoy that feeling." He continued. "But for now I have another task for you."

Sarada nodded again. It seemed like Orochimaru had an endless list of tasks. And so far the only thing she had gotten in return was a painful surgery and a headache.

"I have given your other sharingan to Boruto." Orochimaru said.

"What? Why?" Sarada asked, incredulous. Not that she needed the eye any more. But she could not possible think of a reason why Orochimaru would hand over that power to someone else.

"Your first task will be to use your friend to awaken your mangeyko." Orochimaru smiled maliciously and licked his lips. "You will use your new kotoamatsukami to manipulate Boruto into killing his mother and then himself... Once you do this, you will be my student."

Sarada's heart raced inside her chest. She could not do that. How could she do that? She asked in a shaky voice, "Wh- what if I can't do that?"

"You can and you will." Orochimaru replied, walking away.

Two white snakes slithered up Sarada's back, biting hard into either side of her neck. The small curse marks which sat at the base of her neck, spread up and around the res of her neck to her jaw. She felt the rage burning inside of her. She felt hatred for all those who had done her wrong. She felt the selfishness and the thirst for power. She knew she wanted to destroy the world.

* * *

Sarada ran into Boruto and Hinata in the corridors, looking for the way out of Orochimaru's lab. She had hoped that they escaped before she was able to find them.

Not able to completely resist Orochimaru's power, she placed Hinata under a genjutsu, and she began to plant thoughts of murder in Boruto's mind. But there was still an entire portion of herself that fought hard against the curse mark and the anger that it fed off of.

She purposely tried to warn Hinata by making the genjutsu as false as possible. She made the thoughts that she planted in Boruto's mind large enough that he was aware of them. And she hoped that would be enough.

Then Sasuke appeared before she finished, and Boruto and Hinata were able to escape.

Left alone in the hallway with her father, Sarada battled him, genjutsu against genjutsu. The curse mark helped boost her already prodigious skill, but she was already exhausted from using her new left eye and she was no match for Sasuke.

Eventually, Sasuke overpowered his daughter, and she landed on her butt inside a dark cavernous room occupied by Karin and Sakura.

She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke. "What is this?"

"Watch." Sasuke replied, standing quietly in the midst of his genjutsu.

Sakura sat in a tub of water. She was moaning and groaning with pain. Karin leaned over the edge of the tub and had her hands in the water.

This scene felt very familiar to Sarada, as if she had been here before. It was very fuzzy and only at the periphery of her mind, but she sensed that a very important event was about to happen.

Sakura screamed and then bared down. Karin was yelling, "PUSH! PUSH!"

After a few more screams and pushes from Sakura, Karin gasped. She pulled a tiny pink infant with black hair out of the water. "Ooooh! Look at her!"

"You made this up." Sarada said to her father interrupting the genjutsu. "You weren't even there..."

"I wasn't." Sasuke replied. "But you were."

He pointed as Karin wrapped the infant in a blanket and attempted to rock the crying baby. Sakura said weakly. "I want to see my baby."

Sarada looked at her father and started to cry. She said to him. "I've done something horrible..."

* * *

Sakura led the way deeper into the winding corridor of Orochimaru's lab. She had no idea which way to go, but she was letting her mother's instinct lead her. It was as if she had lost her heart. She felt nauseous and bloated. Her breasts hurt. But she was driven on. Without her heart, she was not going to live another day.

She looked over to her right where Kakashi walked beside her and then to her left where Sai walked. She knew somewhere Naruto and Sasuke were there too. If anyone was going to get Sarada back it would be them. They had done it once before.

When they reached an odd fork in the hallways, Kakashi stopped the group. "We should split up and send some trackers ahead to pick up a scent."

"Sai, you take Kashin and Himawari left. Sakura and I will split right." Kakashi instructed.

Himawari and Kashin looked at each other. Himawari shoved her thumb at Kakashi's son and said, "Maybe he should go with you."

"No." Kakashi shook his head, chuckling softly. "The two of you will go with Sai."

Himawari's shoulders sagged. "Yes. Sir."

Sai pulled out his scroll and sketched some mice, sending them off down the hall left. "Well. Come on."

He motioned for the two young ninja to follow him.

Kakashi bite his thumb and summoned Pakkun. He instructed the ninken to take the right hallway and find the scent of Sarada, Boruto, or Hinata.

Kakashi and Sakura ran forward following Pakkun as he led them through several different turns and forks in the corridors. Finally, they ran into Hinata and Boruto as they hurried up the hall. Hinata was half carrying, half dragging Boruto with her. Sakura and Kakashi looked at each other worried. Boruto looked horrible. Pale, sweating, and burning up.

"How long has he looked like this?" Sakura asked of Hinata as she felt Boruto's pulse and looked in his mouth.

"Just about ten minutes. Since we left Sarada with Sasuke." Hinata replied kneeling next to her son and Sakura, also looking worried.

Sakura moved her hand to remove the bandage covering Boruto's left eye. Hinata put her hand over Sakura's hand stopping her.

"It's Sarada's eye." Hinata warned, then she lifted her hand from Sakura's hand.

"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned.

"Orochimaru switched the eyes." Hinata replied. "Boruto now has Sarada's eye and she has his."

Sakura removed the bandage to reveal the red of Sarada's sharingan. "Why?"

Kakashi kneeled down next to them. "An exchange would keep some sort of connection between the two of them. He wants them connected for some purpose."

"Well then. He can't keep the eye." Hinata stated, looking at Sakura. "Can you remove it?"

Boruto grabbed, Sakura's arm. "No!"

Sakura looked at Kakashi.

"He may need it removed eventually. But just keep it covered for now." Kakashi stated. The suggestion of removing the sharingan was aggravating Boruto even more. He started grunting and writhing around as though fighting something within his body.

Sakura recovered Boruto's left eye and then continued to scan his body, looking for the source of his distress. After she was done, she looked perplexed. "I can't find anything wrong with him. It's almost like he's having a panic attack."

Boruto appeared even more distressed now. He was panting and sweating profusely. He clutched at his chest as though having severe chest pain. Then he balled up his fists and started beating at the side of his head. "No! Stay away from me! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Sakura grasped hold of Boruto's flailing arms, restraining him enough to keep him for harming himself. She looked over at Kakashi. "I need a sedative. It's in my medpack."

Kakashi nodded moving to grab hold of Boruto, as Sakura searched through her med pack and pulled out the syringe. She injected Boruto's arm. He appeared to settle down in Kakashi's arms after a few minutes.

"Give him some water." Sakura instructed. She motioned for Kakashi to let Boruto go, leaning the boy upright against the hallway wall. She felt Boruto's forehead and then the pulse in his right wrist. "He's starting to calm down… much better."

But as Hinata moved to get the canister from Sakura's pack, Boruto sat forward, pulling something from within his pocket. She slashed at Hinata with a large piece of sharp glass, which he apparently had been carrying his pocket.

"No!" Sakura moved in front of Hinata, taking the impact of the glass across her throat. She grasped at her throat, as it spurted blood.

* * *

Sasuke carried Sarada, like a football, under his left arm as he ran down the corridor. She was barely conscious after he released her from the genjutsu.

Her skills with genjutsu were getting better. She had even been able to keep up with him for a time. He smiled despite himself. She would be very powerful once her mangeyko sharingan awakened.

He had been a lot rougher with her mind than he had wanted to be, but he knew the curse marks would make her actions unpredictable and untrustworthy. It was better if she remained unconscious.

After she confessed to him about what she had done to Boruto, he picked her up and ran. He had to get to the kid before he did something terrible that neither he nor Sarada could take back.

"Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly appeared out of another hall. He was already fully in six paths mode, headed toward the location where he sensed Hinata and Boruto. He fell in step with Sasuke, eyeing the girl who he carried under his arm. "Hinata? Boruto? Have you seen them too?"

"They ran this way just a few minutes ago." Sasuke stated. "But it's not over yet. Boruto was given Sarada's other eye. She used the kotoamatsukami on him. She was attempting to activate her mangekyo sharingan."

"What? How does she plan to do that!?" Naruto demanded.

"By manipulating him into killing Hinata and then killing himself."

* * *

Hinata watched wide-eyed, as Sakura fell back into her chest. Boruto was moving forward again with the glass in his hand. Hinata dispersed and reformed behind Boruto, restraining him and preventing him from stabbing Sakura again.

Kakashi moved quickly from his position on the other side of the hall, catching Sakura before she collapsed back to the ground. He placed his hand over Sakura's hand helping her apply pressure to her bleeding neck.

That is when Sasuke and Naruto appeared out of the shadows of the corridor. Sasuke dropped Sarada and ran to Sakura, taking her from Kakashi.

Naruto ran over to Hinata and Boruto, looking at the bloody shard of glass in Boruto's hand. Naruto quickly took the shard of glass from Boruto. He said, "It was Sarada."

Hinata had Boruto's arm. Still in shock, she looked down at her son. He was staring at his bloody hand. She looked up, catching sight of Sarada standing further down the hallway. The girl looked at her mother, dying on the ground. Her face was a mix of anguish, shock, and fear. She stepped back slowly, disappearing quietly into the shadows.

Boruto fell forward grasping at his left eye then. It was bleeding, soaking the bandage. Hinata pulled him into her arms. She looked at Sasuke and Sakura. Finally, fully aware of Naruto's and Sasuke's presence, she said firmly, ready to defend her son. "It wasn't him. He didn't do this."

Naruto replied, "I know."

He repeated, "It was Sarada. We were on our way here because we knew Sarada sent Boruto to kill you."

"And Sakura moved into Boruto's way at the last moment." Hinata whispered to no one in particular.

Sakura looked up at Sasuke. She struggled to speak. "Please… Sasuke… save our babies…"

Sasuke did not miss Sakura's use of the pleural word. He looked down at her abdomen and then back up into her face. She nodded at him, barely staying conscious. He said, "You're going to be ok."

"Here." Hinata placed Boruto in Naruto's arms and moved to try to help Sakura. She did not know near as much medical ninjutsu as Sakura, but she hoped with the help of Sakura's healing ability she might be able to save her.

"Sakura, you have to stay conscious. I need your help." Hinata said. Sakura was losing a lot of blood and her eyes were only half open now, but she managed a nod. Hinata instructed Sasuke on how to apply pressure while she started to move her hand over the wound.

Sakura stayed conscious just long enough to use what was left of her strength and release her hundred seal to speed up the healing process.

* * *

Sasuke slept with his head on Sakura's hospital bed. It had been five months, and she still lay unconscious and attached to machines and bags of fluid. Sasuke had stayed by Sakura's bedside for most of the five months. He only left when there was news of Sarada's whereabouts and then he only stayed away briefly.

When Sakura released the hundred seal, she used most of it to save her baby. To ensure the baby had adequate blood flow and oxygen. She had to reduce blood flow to other areas of her body which put her into a kind of stasis, keeping her alive but just barely. The damage that this had done to her body and her mind had taken a large toll, plus she was still working hard to keep her baby healthy inside of her womb.

The baby was almost full term now. He had fought hard despite all of the odds against him. And soon his father would welcome him into the world.

Sasuke knew in the back of his mind that the baby was coming soon. The medical team was not giving him high hopes that Sakura would gain her strength back and wake up anytime soon after the baby was born. Even when she did wake up, she would have a long recovery ahead before she could take care of a baby. So his son was going to be fully dependent on him for while, and he had done absolutely nothing to prepare for an infant.

He woke up when a hand was placed on his shoulder, and he turned to find Naruto standing behind him.

"You should go home and get some sleep, Sasuke." Naruto said. "I'll sit with her."

Sasuke turned back to his wife. He did not consider that house, his home anymore. He only went there because Sakura and Sarada lived there. Now that neither one of them lived there anymore, he saw no reason to set foot inside again. He had once considered himself to be cursed, but now he thought the house and the land that surrounded it was cursed and so was anyone who lived within its walls.

Sasuke rested his hand on Sakura's round stomach. He did not plan to bring their baby there.

Mebuki offered to take the baby after he was born, or Sasuke would have to find a way to raise him alone. He was not sure what he planned to do, yet.

He knew his mother-in-law hated him. She blamed him for Sakura and Sarada. She would likely try to keep his son from him, and eventually turn him against Sasuke all together. But he had a real reason why he did not live in the village permanently, and he could not take an infant with him on his travels.

He needed to make the decision soon. But he knew there was only one choice, yet he did not want to make it.

"I'm not leaving." He said to Naruto. His voice sounded rough and tired.

Naruto sighed, not bothering to argue with Sasuke. He knew his friend would never listen. "I came to let you know that Hinata has set up the nursery in Boruto's room. He volunteered to give up his room for you and the baby. There is a bed in there for you and a crib and a changing table. Everything is ready for after Sakura gives birth."

Sasuke looked up at Naruto, his face emotionless as usual. "I never said I was taking the baby."

"But you want to take your son. You want him to know you. And you know if Mebuki takes him that won't happen." Naruto narrated Sasuke's thoughts. "Hinata and I will help... and Ino and Temari and Karui have all volunteered to help as well. You can raise your son, and still protect the village and look for Sarada."

Sasuke did not respond. He felt the baby move and kick within Sakura's womb, responding to the slight pressure of his hand.

Sasuke was not surprised that Boruto had volunteered his room. The kid felt responsible for Sakura's condition. The guilt was visibly eating him alive. He was certain that it was even worse for his daughter... wherever she was.

But Sasuke knew Mebuki was right, this was no one's fault but his own. He was the one, who ignored his wife's warnings and his daughter's cries for help. He was the only one, who could have saved Sarada from Orochimaru's and Karin's manipulation, and yet, he chose to sacrifice her for everyone else's sake.

Instead of searching for forgiveness from the rest of the world, the redemption should have come in the form of his children.

He had to make this right for Sarada and for this baby. He replied, "Ok."

* * *

A few weeks later, Sasuke waited outside of the operating room with Naruto, Hinata, Himawari, and Boruto.

The medical team had decided that today was the day to deliver the baby.

They wheeled Sakura out of her hospital room a few hours ago and asked Sasuke to wait outside of the OR.

Ino led the team. Sasuke would not let Sakura out of his sight unless Ino agreed to be the one who preformed the cesarean section.

A few hours later, Ino came out of the room and smiled at Sasuke. "Mother and baby are doing well. Would you like to come in and see your son?"

Sasuke stood up and nodded.

He followed Ino into the room and was given a gown, a hat, and some gloves. Ino moved over to the incubator, which sat near where Sakura lay. She picked up the baby inside it and brought him to Sasuke.

Sasuke took the baby boy from her. He had pink hair and green eyes like his mother. He squirmed and cried in Sasuke's arms until Ino handed Sasuke a small bottle.

Ino watched as Sasuke fed the baby, and she asked, kindly. "What are you going to name him, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked up at Ino, stoically. He responded, "I named our daughter. When Sakura wakes up, she will name our son."


End file.
